morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2006-03-26
To: View Entry
Miles today: 0.0

Current planned Gear list: 26 Mar 2006Sleep Subsystem      MontBell U.L. Super Stretch Down Hugger #3          Mummy bag, 1 lb 7 oz, good down to 14 deg F          With warm up sheet & stuff sacks      Thermarest Z-Lite sleeping pad      5' x 8' Ultralight Tarp with fitted ground sheet      Ultralight Sleep Net      8 tent stakes   Clothing subsystem      Frogg Toggs, Water & wind proof covers         Pro Action: Jacket 9.9 oz, pants 7.2 oz,          total 17.1 oz stored in 1 Gallon Ziploc bag      Mountain Hardwear Tempest SL Gloves, Medium      Mountain Hardwear Perpetual Long Sleeve T-shirt      North Face Cedar Mesa trail shoes      --- More to come ---   Travelling subsystem      G4 Ultralight Pack (Small, 3100 Cu in) 16 0z      Leki ultralight TI Air Ergo Trekking poles         Ultralight headlamp for 15 hours   Communications Subsystem      Satellite Phone from SkyCall Communications:         Including 2 rechargeable batteries & recharger   Dietary Subsystem:      1 Ultralight Nesting Cookset       Estimated average food on leaving a resupply point:         16-24 Peanut butter sandwiches, individually packaged            in Ziploc Bags         20 packets of Raisin & Spice Instant Oatmeal         5-10 packets of instant hot chocolate         10 lbs of egorp in 1/2 lb lots in ziploc bags               2-8 liters of water.   Note G4 will hold 4 two liter         bottles.      Obviously the amount of restock will be based upon how long to the next restock pointegorp = extended gorp = (this will adjust to available stuff)      4 lbs peanuts      1 lb sunflower seeds & kernels      8 oz beef jerky, cut small      8 oz dried apple slices   10 oz dried bannana slices   24 oz raisins   34 oz M & M's (big and regular size, solid chocolate)         Miscellaneous items:      Neck Lanyard Bag      Snack Carrier      2 Hanging food bags      Digitial Voice Recorder         Backpacker's Towel      Backpacker's Trowel      Victorinix Swiss Army Knife            Mosquito head net      Solar Blanket      Nylon repair tape      1 Box hexamine fuel tablets      small bottle of HEET      Bag Balm      Duck Tape      100 Sheets of Toilet Paper packed 10 per ziploc bag         Lexan spork   0.5 Oz      3 Nine hour candles      1 Toasty Toes      Mapdanas for Virginia to Maine      xtra battery for headlamp & for voice recorder      Gold Bond Powder         Bounce Box:      Boots for rock & mountain usage      Unneeded mapdanas      Spare batteries
Date: 2006-04-08
From: Thunder Hill Shelter

To: Matt's Creek Shelter
Miles today: 12.4
Weather: light rain

8 Apr 2006 - Destination: Matt's Creek Shelter(12.4 miles)Up around dawn, morning abulitions, breakfast by about 07:15, packed and out by 07:45. Tripple layer clothed with Frogg Toggs under Orvis Coat. It was rainy, windy and cold. Crossed the parkway, passed the overlook, never did look for or find the Harrison Ground Spring. I just kept pushing, soaked to the skin mostly from my own sweat. Breathable fabrics don't breathe very well at 100% humidity.12:31 44689 - I reached Petite's Gap, having done about 4.7 miles. I have 7.7 miles to go before Matt's Creek Shelter.13:26 - Halfway up the hill from Petite's Gap I met a couple of local section hikers going south. They indicated that it would be much easier once I reached the top, which was close, because then the rest was downhill. I guess I have about another four to five hours of hiking before I reach the shelter. The sun has been peeking out, it is a little bit warmer, and I've started to shed clothing. For me at least, drizzle = energy fizzle.14:56 44743 - I'm at a crest. There is a monster peak (High Cock Knob) in front of me with a gentle downhill before it. Supposedly there is a spring up here, but I don't see any sign of it, and I don't need it, so I am not going to worry about it. Pushing hard, I crossed High Cock Knob in a rainy, misty haze with no views and kept on plodding, finally reaching Matt's Creek Shelter around 19:00 just before sundown. I was freezing, cold and wet. I tried to get a decent fire going, even digging out a cubbyhole in the fire ring and using what I thought was dry tinder, but I could not get anything to burn well. I gave up attempting to make a fire, and set up in the shelter with the aid of the candles and the headlamp. Did a bit of writing, but writing by the candles when cold, wet and tired was not trivial. This weather had made the hiking experience totally miserable, yet there was a real sense of exhilaration at having completed this messy day hike. Endomorphins are strange, indeed.This shelter is your basic six person shelter with an uncovered picnic table, a place for a fire, and a nearby privy. In an unusual layout, the privy is actually fairly close to the creek.NOTE: Accidently left orange (Dancing Light Gear) catscoop behind here, [as determined later, vide infra], having used it to clean out the fireplace before building a fire.NOTE: the cooking pot should have etched into it 1/2 cup, 1 cup,... lines.NOTE: The Frogg Toggs should have actual pockets and the top should have some resistance to wear where the pack straps overlay it, when the pack is on.
Date: 2006-04-15
From: Dutch Haus

To: Priest Shelter
Miles today: 1.5
Weather: scattered clouds

15 Apr 2006 - Destination: Priest ShelterIt's Saturday morning about 09:30, and Lois is taking me up to the trailhead for my hike to the Priest Shelter. The road we are taking is freshly gravelled and in much better condition than she remembered it to be. Apparently the state cleaned it up the previous week. I walked up from the parking lot, found the trail, and rested a bit. During the walk up, I was passed by a group of cub scouts, and a gentleman out for an easy day hike.After I got to the Priest Shelter, Kendra, Steph and 4 guys from Gettysburg College showed up. We talked a bit and they noted that they are tarping and tenting tonight (and will not be in the shelter) in order to celebrate Easter Sunday (tomorrow) at the top of Priest Mountain. During the conversation I noted that I had never put up my tarp and no experience in using one. Kendra volunteered to show me how she puts up her tarp, and I walked over to watch. It is a different kind of tarp setup. She ties a rope between two trees about 4 feet off the ground and suspends her (full size) tarp over the rope and stakes the ends. Not relevant to my needs, but a pleasant diversion.About 17:32 two hikers (Jud and Jared) with 2 large dogs showed up. The dogs were being used as pack animals, and the hikers were not carrying anything. After refilling their water from the local creek, and having a snack, they continued southbound around 18:00. They were in a real rush, as they had put cars at both ends of their weekend hike, and when they got to their destination car, realized that they had left the keys to it in the car where they started, on Fish Hatchery Road, so they were trying to get back before it got to dark.18:50 - "Chessman" arrived. The Chessman is 1800+ rated. We played a game on his little travel set while waiting for his traveling companions "Baked Potatoe" to arrive. He wiped the floor with me. Brian, and his dog JJ came in about this time. Chessman & I played some more, until dark, and he won. One of the Gettysburg College kids came by and asked if anyone wanted to get up early, to go see sunrise from the peak. Some of the others volunteered.
Date: 2006-04-18
From: Harper's Creek Shelter

To: Home - Roanoke
Miles today: 0.0

18 April 2006 - Destination: RoanokeAfter pulling down the tarp protecting me from the wind, I left Harper's Creek Shelter about 08:15 or so. Wally and Brian left a little bit before me and headed north. I reached the swinging bridge about 10:45. It was a beautiful day, and if yesterday had been like this, I would probably still be proceeding onward. During this easy downhill hike, I used up about 1.2 liters of water and stopped about every 200 steps or so to rest. I crossed the Rye River via the swinging bridge, and once on the road, took the pack off and stuck my thumb out, looking for a ride to the Blue Ridge Parkway. The two Leki poles that had been left at the sign when I was last here (vide supra), were now gone."Bryan" in the nineteenth car to pass picked me up in his jeep just past noon. I had finished my last gorp about 30 minutes earlier. He took me to the Lynchburg cutoff on the BRP. He is currently job hunting and wants to hike the trail, but is constrained by wife and two kids. I told him about the "Walking Witchers", the Roanoke family that did it in 2003, and he was encouraged, and said he would look up the stories in the Roanoke Times. He dropped me at the overlook/overpass where I finished off my last peanut butter sandwich and continued hitching. A nice couple with their son picked me up in their SUV and got me a few more miles to Big Island. Then another Jeep picked me up and got me to the Peaks of Otter around 14:40. About 16:40 an elderly gentleman with a large wooden cross in the front seat of his car picked me up and got me to the Buchanan exit around 17:00. Once there I called Karen (using the Globalstar, it worked!) (as I thought she lived out here), and although they were in Roanoke, she insisted on coming out and getting me, instead of my hitching in the last bit. Apparently she now patches her calls through to her location in Roanoke. She said she knew where I was and would be there about 18:30. She was, and then I was home.-----finis-----For now - I plan to be back.
Date: 2006-03-06
From: SpringerMtn

To: Katadin
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: broken clouds

on the waygetting on the plane it started to hit me I'll be through hikeing the Appilacian TrailIt was a great feeling. although my leg was still hurting from a snowboarding accident. It would figure it would happen 4 days before I leave for the hike. I was feeling happy that Lindsey was picking us up at the airport and that she was driving Brian and me to the trail Head. - Really Happy We got to the lodge pretty tired got almost no sleep the night before. walked Lindsey to her car at 6AM then finally got 3 hours of sleep as Brian snored all night like a freight train he even wakes himself up lol
Date: 2006-03-09
From: Maine

To: Springer Mtn
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: overcast clouds

3/7Hiking went OK today. I hate mornings. we got to the part with the tough trail. People are really nice but different3/8got some sleep. Brian snores really loud his new trail name is "Freight Train" the trail is tough for surewe're at the base of blood mountain elevation 4461'Big hike tomorrow going down the mountain./ will bring us into town and a resupply store. that's goodI met a really nice older couple: "Little Engine" & "Gotta-Go", good through hikers, they did the same milage as us. not bad. I think I hike too hard for Brian so I think I'll slow down tomorrow, I'll TryNeels Gap a really cool place. Hostel & outfitters, so we stayed the night. got a shuttle to town for an all you can eat buffet food was OK I slept good that night3/9 In the Morning I got some tips to lighten my pack, that was helpful. got some new stuff. new : stove $25, Tyvek ground cloth $22, shoe inserts $32 and a $10 blister repair kit the guys there really new their shit. sent some ctuff home, extra clothes I didn't needfinally left at 1:00 not a big deal, went nice and easythen my heel started to hurt not so happy. did 7 miles not bad. set camp on a mtn. great view of the town & the lightsat night. they were amazing ... and the cell works!
Date: 2006-03-11
From: Maine

To: View Entry
Miles today: 0.0

3/10WOW, whata day 15 miles and feelc goodso we did 12 miles and we hitched a ride into town to eat.. we got a ride in 10 seconds. lolwent to town it'a a weekend .. Live Band playing Johnny Cash. Got a dbl Cheese Burgerdinner it was sol good. We sat and watched the band play, really nice town. Got some beer and hitched a ride back to the trail. we jumped into the bed of this pick up truck. the man asked "Where to?" " to the trail?" we replied "Yup!" while on the way hwe asked us to hand him a beer out of the bed of the truck, we did.then I said to Brian "now you know your in the south" lolwhen we got to the trail we jumoed out and started hiking up this rocky mountain in the nightand got to bed before 113/11my Akillees tendon is killing me, I had to get new sneekers to hike in, this really sucks. Now we're taking a "zero day" to let them rest. we hitched a ride to Hiawasee to re-supply our food we met some old couple that were willing to take me to a shoe store. That's Good.they dropped us at the trail head... 4 mile to the next shelter. it was going to be bad weather tonight. should have stayed at a hostel, ."I wish".. now I have to carry my boot to the next town.
Date: 2006-03-16
To: View Entry
Miles today: 0.0

3/16At "Standing Indian Shelter" we met "Grey Fox" & "Balloon" cool guys. we hiked with them all day. the sneakers really helped. we made plans to stay with them in Franklin NC at his Mom's home. (should be nice) it's snowing,it's great it's not rain. we had lunch and the weather cleared up the4 sun came out so we started to hike from Carter Shelter" I turned my phgone on and I had service. I called my Dad, Mom, James, Kyle, AJ & Lindsey, that was nice, so now I'm happy.hiking along the trail we stumbled upon "Trail Magic" where all the boys were sitting I took a seat. and they mad me a grilled cheese sandwich & a soda. It Was Great. We stayed there at least an hour. We got up with the boys and only 2 miles to go it's a big climb...Straight Up to a fire tower Beautiful view .. so when a day dosen't look so good it could be a great day.3/18we got to Balloons summer home. It's beautiful, lots of land and the river flows through the front yard.. dogs running around it is so nice. His Mom made us some burgers and we watched the sunset for the deckWe took off a day to re supply
Date: 2006-03-22
To: View Entry
Miles today: 0.0

3/21finally back on the trail. did 10 Miles to "Cold Spring Shelter" I have my Dad's -15 degree sleeping bag, it should be too warm! lol it's nalso 5lbs heavier then mine.we hike to "N.O.C." (Nantahala Outdoor Center) tomorrow 10 miles then to "The Smokies." Brian hikes a little further today. we got a mouse trap and caught 4 mice. So, I cleaned out the shelter. lol my goal is to get more then 10 mice (the current record in 1 shelter) 3/22We're at N.O.C. and chillin', bought gaitors today. got my first food drop. really cool river and had a cheese burger doing 16 miles tomorrow
Date: 2006-03-24
From: Fontana Dam

To: Hot Spriings
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: light rain

3/23"Brown Fork Shelter" 16 miles "Feeling pretty Good"3/24"Fontana Dam" Southern boundry of the Great Smoky Mountains" 1800' to 6643' elevation"Damn, that's a pretty good climb" tomorrow I'll be hiking 13 miles straight up. Should be lots of FUNWrite about today:last night it snowed 3" it was beautifil on the mountains, but not to hike in my shoes.. Got soaked all the way through,"Not Fun" Got to Fontana at 1PM, found a ride into town. straight to the laundy mat to dry my sneakers. (then found I had forwarded my food to some hike that was full and didn't get my food? "that sucks"and the lady was a "Bitch". something else I didn't know, that the hike was 8 mikes out of town. so I went shopping and then to the outfitter store. had free cofee with my buddiesback to the trail and to the shelter
Date: 2006-04-18
From: Damascus

To: Bastian
Miles today: 30.0

News from Night Rider & Freight Train They have just completed 3 states: GA, NC & TNMonday 4/17 they started there're 40-mile trek to Damascus, VA Night Rider did 30 miles on Monday and hoofed the last 10 miles today Tuesday 4/18/06However, Freight Train just kept on going non-stop to complete the 40 miles in 1 day. (22 hours)(He's a better man then me)Kudos to Freight Train & Night Rider Wow, now that's impressive. He'll be in Damascus today and tomorrow and back to the trail Thursday 4/20I'm not sure but my guesstamate is that they've gone 450-500 miles so far J Stay tuned¢¦.   -crypt keeper
Date: 2006-05-04
From: CATAWBA

To: DALEVILLE
Miles today: 73.0
Weather: clear sky

HI ALL,ok, I've not updated in a while...so, Night Rider & Freight Train have been hiking they're feet offthey've been to Damascus, Pearisburg, Atkins & are in Catawba VA todayThey had a beer & pizza party at Partnership Shelter... called a pizza place to deliver to a ranger station near by, asked the delivery guy to stop and p/u several 6 packs too. (sounds like hiking fun) Right Rider says according to a fellow AT Dweller, Catawba has a great ALL you can eat home style cooking place... I know Freight Train will take FULL advantage of the fact.Milage has been up too, daily count has been like: 10, 23, 28, today 12 miles so far. but not sure how many more they'll hike tonight after eating (all you can eat) How much can u eat?ok thats all for now I will update the pictures soonCrypt Keeper-
Date: 2006-05-15
From: HARRISONBURG VA

To: HARPERS FERRY WV
Miles today: 100.0
Weather: broken clouds

HEY ALLjust got back to NY Night Rider is on the move: he'll be traveling via canoe for the next 100 miles or so. He looks great! bushy beard and all I'll post new photos asapfrom Harrisonburg VA to Harpers Ferry WVFreight Train is off trail now heading for Montauk Point has to swim & save lives for a while.. will continue? maybe someday. Gotta make some loot.
Date: 2005-10-02
To: We're coming back - part Dur....
Miles today: 0.0

Below is the last journal entry of our 2003 Thru Hike. This will explain why we are joining the class of 2006......GA to MENose & the PoolerbearsJuly 2003---Looking Back ¢ ReflectionsNow that we¢ve been off the trail for several weeks, we want to share our reflections.We both felt that we made the right decision (at the time) when we came off the trail in New York, BUT it has been very hard dealing with that decision since we got back.20/20 hindsight is always reflective of what you ¢wish you had¢ done. Of course it is easy to sit here, at home, rested both physically and mentally from the demands of the trail, and say we ¢should have¢ never come off. It doesn¢t make any difference on how we rationalize our reason for coming off, we still look back and think of all the reasons we shouldn¢t have.We have no regrets as far as attempting the hike ¢ it was the hardest thing we done, both physically and mentally, but the best experience we¢ve had ¢ but we didn¢t finish.We both said it was ¢doing the hike¢ that mattered most, but we didn¢t finish.We both think about the trail ¢all the time¢ and enjoy reminiscing, but we didn¢t finish.We had the time, resources and support, but we didn¢t finish.We now both know that we do want to finish, because it is important to us.PA & Beave want to do the whole trail again (male thing ¢ according to them), and me & Beave want to either start at Harper¢s Ferry or where we left off in New York. Because we can¢t all take off the time together, we¢ll go at separate times, supporting each other, and meeting to hike a week or two along the trail.We¢re starting to get excited again about going back and feeling good about the decision.Our only advice is, if you get down physiologically; DON¢T come off the trail, unless you can live with that decision, no matter what.                                                Nose & the Poolerbears                                                      Happy Trails ¢¦¢¦¢¦.
Date: 2005-10-02
To: Some of the lessons learned...
Miles today: 0.0

Some of the things we have learned since leaving the trail are;The trail is always on our minds....We have learned a LOT about pack weight...We know we will not feel fulfilled until we TRY again...We WANT to try again.....We feel we are mentally and physically able to do it....We know now it's not the Trail, it's the JOURNEY and the PEOPLE....
Date: 2005-10-02
To: From the top of the pack - almost!
Miles today: 0.0

OK, OK.... enough of this sentimental stuff... I just want to get back on the trail to eat the snack mix and blame it on the Shelter mice.... Since the trip of 2003, MA has managed to lose Beave (beaver) (after losing Huggy (bear) in Red Rock Canyon) somewhere on the Long Trail in Vermont. If this doesn't make sense, look at our 2003 journal under Little Nose!! PA won't let MA take another (stuffed) animal with her this time - and I'm not riding on her pack
Date: 2005-10-08
To: View Entry
Miles today: 0.0

We're sitting here listening to the heavy rain outside and much to our surprise, we realize that we're just as excited about starting this trip as we were the original trip in 2003. We've got all our gear in order and find that we've been able to keep our pack weight at 25 pounds with all our food and gear for a seven day period. This really excites us after the 2003 weight of 45 to 50 pounds for the same period. Nose's weight is up a little from '03 because whenever he sat on the beams in the shelter, the mice would knock him off, and he said this time he'd weight too much for them to toss him around. Now we're arguing that if he puts on to much weight that he'll have to walk some of it off, rather than ride on the "top of the pack". We've also been thinking a lot about the people, places and things on the 2003 trip. Even after 3 years, the faces and places are as vivid now, as it was then. We look forward to meeting new thru hikers and sharing the experiences again. We plan to start at Springer on Valentine's Day. We picked this date because in '03 Bruce planned on picking up some chocolates for Valentine's Day for me, on April 14th. I had to explain that Valentine's Day was in February!! We've had many a laugh about this, so it only made sense to start this day. The biggest difference about this time is that I am retiring the end of January and Bruce is taking 6 months off from his business , so time won't be a factor. Four months seems like a long time to wait to start, but the weeks are flying by. A day doesn't go by that we don't talk about things we remember from the '03 trip....places, people, things that happened, rain, rain, rain.......
Date: 2005-12-17
To: Getting Anxious
Miles today: 0.0

We're getting close to being the official Class of '06.... We've been reading '05 journals, which are winding down, and '06 journals which are winding up. Some nervous, some anxious and even some who seem calm. The underlying current of excitement and anticipation can almost be felt. Even we, who have experienced a large part of the trail, can't help but be excited. We were in Washington a week ago and day hiked a portion of the Wonderland Trail - beautiful - it made us want the time to fly by so we can step back onto our favorite Trail - the AT :0) We are going to start a few days earlier than we had originally planned just because we can't wait. The good thing is that the Holiday's will make the time go by quickly and then it will only be a month until we start! We will enjoy meeting our new family and hope we might even see a few familiar faces from our '03 hike. Happy Holidays and Happy Hiking from Nose and the Poolerbears
Date: 2006-01-28
To: Last Journal before leaving - WoW!
Miles today: 0.0

We added our maildrops and finished up all our boxes. Since we're going to Orlando to visit relatives before starting the trail, we sent our pack and gear to the Hiker Hostel so it would be there when we arrived. After sending the boxes we gathered the stuff we are taking to start the trail and realized that our stuffed dog (NOSE) is missing! We don't know if he fell asleep in the box, or is he hiding because he doesn't want to go......... Guess we'll see once we get there.....HaHaWe're sooooo ready to go and see that there are quite a few people (online) that are planning to start within a few days of us. Since we changed our starting date from 2/14 to 2/11, it makes it that much closer! We can't wait to meet other members of the class of 2006, plus anybody we knew from the class of 2003 that might want to meet us at all the gaps with trail magic (Yeah, right)! See you out there and our next update will be from the Trail :0) To walk, to see, to see what you see.........that's what our life will be for the next 4-6 monthsPoolerbears