morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2009-12-14
To: If Not Now, When?
Miles today: 0.0

¢If I am not for myself, then who will be for me? And if I am only for myself, then what am I? And if not now, when?¢ - Rabbi HillelThe Appalachian Trail. It¢s out there, calling to me. It meanders for 2100 miles along ridge lines from Springer, Georgia to Katahdin, Maine. I¢ve read the books, laughed with Bryson, cried with Katz. I¢ve section hiked all of Georgia and hiked other parts of the AT sporadically. I¢ve attended Trail Days in Damascus every year since 2003. I¢ve watched others make the decision and start up the long trail. I¢ve seen the joy, the pain, the resolution to keep hiking. I¢ve followed individual trail journals and lived vicariously through them. I understand it as best as any person who hasn¢t actually thruhiked can understand it. But I have never made that decision for myself.I am a family man with a wife and three children at home. One of them is a 10 year old boy with Down Syndrome. He is a bright light to be around and a joy to raise. Jason¢s unconditional love is truly a blessing, but he takes quite a lot of effort to handle when he is being stubborn. I have a professional job that provides a good salary and great benefits. I have a mortgage, car payments, health insurance premiums, etc. I can¢t be running off to the trail. I must be strong and responsible and put off till tomorrow what can¢t be done today. But recently I watched a documentary called ¢The Teachings of Jon¢ about a 47 year own man with Down Syndrome and I realized that all my tomorrows will never allow me to take off six months in a row to chase my dream once Jason grows to be a teenager and then a man. As Jason grows he will grow stronger physically, but still stay a child in his mind because his mental disability is severe. He will be just as recalcitrant when he wants his own way, but he¢ll be twice as big. My wife can handle him now with difficulty, but in the years to come that task will fall completely to me. I noticed in ¢The Teachings of Jon¢ that it was the father that had most of the interactions with Jon simply because he was the only one that could physically handle him. I look forward to that relationship in the coming years for Jason truly is my Shining Light. But for now a window of opportunity is still open. I need to take it while its there.¢If I am not for myself, then who will be for me?¢ I need to follow my dream now while my wife and daughters can still manage him. ¢And if I am only for myself, then what am I?¢ I love my family. They understand my desire for the trail. My daughters have both been backpacking with me and know what the call of the trail is. They support me. My wife knows it will be hard for her, but she knows that I am rarely ¢only for myself¢, that I give them so much, and that I need this now.¢And if not now, when?¢ So now is the time. I¢ll see you on the trail.
Date: 2009-12-17
To: The Journey of Five Million Steps
Miles today: 0.0

So what is the Appalachian Trail anyway? According to the National park service "the Appalachian Trail (A.T.) is more than 2,175-mile long footpath stretching through 14 eastern states from Maine to Georgia. Conceived in 1921 and first completed in 1937, it traverses the wild, scenic, wooded, pastoral, and culturally significant lands of the Appalachian Mountains. The A.T. is proudly America's first national scenic trail!" You can get more of the official version here: http://www.nps.gov/appa/index.htmThe reason the trail is still here and still traveled is because of groups like The Appalachian Trail Conservancy. They are "a volunteer-based organization dedicated to the preservation and management of the natural, scenic, historic, and cultural resources associated with the Appalachian National Scenic Trail in order to provide primitive outdoor-recreation and educational opportunities for Trail visitors." You can learn more about the ATC and teh AT itself at the Appalachian Trail Conservancy website: http://www.appalachiantrail.org/site/c.mqLTIYOwGlF/b.4805401/k.8865/About_the_Trail.htmThe Appalachian Trail is used by millions of people each year. Some are there for a family picnic just a few feet from their car and many more are just out for a dayhike. Others are strapping on backpacks for multi-day camping trips along the trail. Then there are those who attempt to hike the entire 2175 miles all at once. These adventurous folks are known as Thruhikers. This journey will take 5-7 months and will test the will of even the strongest hiker.Although thousands of people attempt an AT thruhike each year, only about 20% of them complete the entire journey. I know the trail will challenge me and being away from my family will be difficult. I also know that I can be hardheaded, stubborn and persistent. I know what the trail is and I have some understanding what kind of pain will be coming my way. But I will have given up too much security and asked too much of others for me to quit before summiting Mount Katahdan in Baxter State Park in Maine come next September.
Date: 2009-12-18
To: Gear and Preparation
Miles today: 0.0

This will be a short entry.Between my daughters and I we have more than enough backpacking gear to outfit my thruhike. But much of it is too heavy or bulky. And then some of it, like their MSR Microzoid tents or my Eureka Solitaire, may be too small for comfort. I have also been very lucky at the raffles and giveaways during Traildays. I have won a backpack every single year I¢ve attended. Some I sold or traded away. I also gave both of my daughters the small Golite Jam packs. I'll choose from the three or four decent packs we still have depending on which one best fits the rest of my gear when I finally get around to assembling it. I'll either use one of the tiny tents I mentioned above or fix the MSR Hubba I broke when I fell on it trying to put on frozen boots.I currently have a Big Agnes synthetic bag with the 2 1/2" insulated air core mattress - oh what luxurious sleeping that system gives - but its too heavy for a thruhike. My other bags are much heavier and are more for car camping. My girls have 15* REI Sub Kilo women's bags but they are too short and too pink for me. So being on a tight budget I bought the Campmor Goose Down 20 Degree Mummy bag which weighs about 2 1/2 pounds. The only other "big" purchase I have made was for the Lands End SnowPack 700 fill down jacket that weighs slightly less than a pound - $53 shipped. Now I just need to buy some trail runners and I am done buying stuff except for some food for a couple mail drops.Oh, I bought one other thing. I want to keep in touch with my family while I am gone, especially my 10 year son with Down Syndrome. To do that I bought a light weight web cam and headset/mic and plan to download Skype onto a thumbdrive so I can video chat with them from time to time. I don't want my son to forget my face. The equipment arrived a few days ago so I now I need to set it up and go to the library for a test run. Well, I guess this wasn't a short entry after all. I haven't even discussed preparation for the trail, yet. Short answer is I haven't done much prep and I probably won't do much planning. There's plenty to do around the house before I leave that will keep me busy. I have been following trail journals and attending trail days for years. It doesn't make me an expert, but I know enough to know that its just walking in the woods. If your mind can't take it, all the prep in the world won't get you to Maine. I also section hiked all of Georgia back in March of 2005 so I also know how much that first week or two is going to hurt if I don't get into hiking shape . Hopefully I will find the time.Although I don¢t plan to over plan this hike, it never leaves my mind for more than a few minutes. I don¢t know how the people who have been planning for a year or more have been able to function with this kind of intensity overriding everything. Or maybe this is just how you feel for the first few weeks after making the decision and it wears off as time passes. We shall see.That¢s it for now. My third entry. The journal now goes public.See you out there.
Date: 2010-01-06
To: Victory Junction
Miles today: 0.0

Happy New YearThe Tens are finally here. Farewell to the Naughts, Aughts, Oh Ohs, or whatever your preferred name for the previous decade. I¢ve entered this new year with a new challenge, a new adventure and now, a new goal. At its core, any long trail thruhike is an inherently selfish thing to do. I¢ve explained in my opening entry of this journal my reasoning/rationalization for making this choice, so I won¢t go into that again. I know this hike will, in the long run, benefit my son with Down Syndrome by giving me back some of my youth which will be needed to keep up with his. Still, the sacrifices my wife and children will be making should be for more than just my own growth and self-exploration. It should benefit more than just my son, Jason. Therefore, I have decided to use this journey of five million steps to promote and benefit Victory Junction. ¢The mission of Victory Junction is to enrich the lives of children with chronic medical conditions or serious illnesses by providing life-changing, camping experiences that are exciting, fun and empowering, in a safe and medically-sound environment.¢ ¢The Victory Junction experience costs about $2500 per child, but no child or family ever pays. The generosity of individuals, corporations, and foundations makes the camp experience available. You can send a child to Victory Junction for a week and bring a smile to their face with your gift.¢Our family visited Victory Junction during one of their family weekends this past fall. That particular weekend was for kids with physical handicaps and/or vision/hearing problems. It was an awesome experience that changed my wife¢s apprehensions of letting Jason go to a weeklong summer camp. The staff and volunteers were fantastic people eager to offer a helping hand. The atmosphere is full of love and fun and a can do attitude no matter the medical condition of the camper. ¢Victory Junction serves 24 chronic medical conditions and serious illnesses such as, but not limited to, Autism, Cancer, Craniofacial Anomalies, Diabetes, Hemophilia, Sickle Cell and Spina Bifida. For a full list or to learn more about VJG, please visit: www.victoryjunction.org¢If you¢d like to help me send a kid to camp, you can donate directly to Victory Junction by visiting their Donation Web Page: www.victoryjunction.org/donate/index.php If you indicate that you are donating because of ¢Hyway¢s AT Thruhike¢ it may be possible for Victory Junction to keep a tally of how much we are raising.I am thankful for this opportunity to hopefully raise enough money to send at least one kid to camp. I will try to make this journal interesting enough to send even more. So please open your hearts, and your wallets, and send a kid to camp.
Date: 2010-01-15
To: View Entry
Miles today: 0.0

I think I have a defective calendar. No matter how many times a day I check it, it refuses to change. I think I will look for one that has hourly increments built into it. The trail is always on my mind. It¢s rather distracting. At the grocery store: ¢Sir, paper or plastic?¢ I say, ¢Plastic, its lighter and I can wear it as sock protectors when my Merrell¢s are wet.¢ Blank stare.I¢ve also printed out some ¢non-business¢ cards to give people who ask me about my hike or about Victory Junction (the summer camp for kids with special needs or other health issues that prevent them from attending regular summer camps). I think it looks pretty awesome and it gives the critical information like my journal page and the donation link for Victory Junction. Plus the background is my favorite moment on a mountain ¢ me snoozing on top Hawksbill Mountain at Linville Gorge in North Carolina. If I scan the card I¢ll post a pic of it here.I tested out my Campmor 20 degree down bag while watching a movie the other night. It didn¢t take long before I was roasting inside. It was long enough to know that the regular starts to feel cramped after awhile, so I am sending it back and getting the long. I¢ve also sent off the fly and poles of my MSR Hubba for repair. My tip for the day: when putting on frozen boots, either sit down or move away from your tent because it won¢t hold the weight of a fully grown man falling on his butt. When I get the sleeping bag and the pole/fly back I will put my pack together and find out what my base weight will be. I know that my pack, tent, sleeping bag/mat, cooking gear (minus fuel), water filtration (steripen w/ polar pure backup) come to around 9# 2oz. Now I need to add batteries, electronics, first aid, clothing, food, water, etc, and see what weight I will be carrying.So now it¢s just waiting. I have my gear (or will have soon). I have arranged a ride to Springer and a ride back from Maine. In between it will just be walking, foot first aid, grocery shopping and pigging out at AYCEs. No mail drops, no chasing deadlines to be somewhere, no vows to hike past every white blaze ¢¦ just hiking and camping and trying not to whine too much. I plan to travel from Georgia to Maine using nothing but foot power (or maybe paddling a small section along a river if I am blessed with that opportunity), but I am not going out there simply to hike a path beat into the Earth. I am going out there for the journey and the people. They will still be the same whether I am hiking a purist hike or slack packing a few sections. The goal for me is to summit Katahdin after reaching it under my own power, not the counting of 20,000 white paint marks along the way. Every thruhike is different. So no matter how you plan to hike yours, I hope to meet you along the way and share in the adventure.Happy Hiking to all of us ¢tenners¢. Now, I am off to find a new calendar.
Date: 2010-01-26
To: Cascade Designs and MSR
Miles today: 0.0

Here is a pic of my "non-business" card I created to hand to people who ask me about my hike. It has my journal link, a pic of me "hiking" and a link to donate to Victory Junction should anyone be so inspired. I also now have a link to Victory Junction on the left side of this journal just above the guest book entries. I'm glad I have a cause to hike for, it helps me when I look into my sons face and wonder if I am doing the right thing by leaving him for 6 months. I assure myself that doing this now, though difficult, will pay big premiums in our future together. On top of that I will be leaving my wife as a single parent for 6 months. I will owe her big for a long time to come.Ok, enough about what a Cad I am.A few entries ago I wrote that I had sent my fly and poles for my MSR Hubba tent to Cascade Designs for repair. I reported to them that I had fallen on it which is what caused the foot long tear in the fly. I was expecting a bill for the repairs. Yesterday they sent back the repaired poles and a brand new replacement fly ... no charge. Cascade Designs/MSR is a great company that makes awesome tents. You can't go wrong doing business with them.So that completes the collection of all my big ticket items. Now to just put it all together and make a list of the minor items I still need. And weigh it all. I sure hope I have the base weight under 20 lbs, but I doubt it.
Date: 2010-02-12
To: Ice Helmet
Miles today: 0.0

After reading about the trials and tribulations of the current thruhikers, I have decided to practice Safe Hikes. Witness, the Ice Helmet ... warmth for the ears, and falling ice will bounce safely away from my noggin. And should I be struck senseless and collapse in the snow, the bright colors can be seen from the space shuttle and SAR can be directed to my location. With the Ice Helmet, who needs a SPOT?
Date: 2010-02-13
To: campfires
Miles today: 0.0

I have decided on how I plan to journal. I bought a Droid and am slowly typing on it now. Its slow going but I am sure I will get better at it. At least I think I am sure. I feel like Fred Flintstone stepping out of his foot peddled car and then getting into a Lamborghini.   Only now its my poor little fingers that are smoking, rather than my feet.I've included a pic of the type of campfire I plan to build while on the trail. Although, I am not sure I can afford to buy all the tents this may melt.Happy hiking ,
Date: 2010-02-16
To: Fortunes
Miles today: 0.0

I haven't had a fortune cookie since I made my decision to thruhike back in November. Not dining out has been a linchpin in my plan for saving money. Today I splurged and this is what my fortune said:"A dream will always triumph over reality, once it is given a chance."Ok, Dream, here's your chance. Time to step up and kick Reality's butt. I am sure Reality will not go down easy, though. He's an ornery old malcontent with quite a few tricks up his sleeve. Not to mention his pals sloth and gluttony who like to take cheap shots whenever my back is turned. If not for those two, I'd be eating less and actually wearing a pack when I exercise on the stairs. And greed is trying to deafen me with Tax forms. "Do me! Do me!" it keeps screaming in my ears. If those weren't enough, Reality's tiny minions are nipping at my ankles - transfer the dental insurance, sell the van, rake the yard, finish my minor gear items, ...But Dream also has reinforcements. My wife and kids are supporting me in this and are stepping up to do fill the breaches in the wall. If you have the support of friends and family a Dream can triumph.
Date: 2010-02-21
To: Two weeks and birthdays
Miles today: 0.0

Two weeks from tonight my thruhike will have begun and I will be typing this entry from inside my tent at Hawk Mountain shelter. Well not this entry, but the one for that night. It wouldn't make much sense to rewrite this entry. But I digress. Where has the time gone? It felt like time was crawling, but here it is anyway.I have most of my todo list completed. I've sold the van, the motorcycle, cleaned out the junk from miscellaneous places and built up some savings and set my family on a budget they can live with. Now I just need to finish the taxes and chase some squirrels from the attic. Nothing I can do about the bats in my bellfry, though. I'm afraid I'm stuck with those until I can pass them on to my children. I packed my gear the other day and took a midnight ride to the post office. I love those self service mailing stations. So it appears that minus my water and a few pounds for two more lunches and some other minor items my pack weighs 24 1/2 pounds. I think I can lose a pound or so of what I have already packed so I will definitely be under 30 pounds. And that's a good thingMy wife's birthday is tomorrow, but we celebrated it today. We usually spend the weekend in Myrtle Beach, but my quitting my job to thruhike put a damper on that tradition. Trisha has been really great about this. I owe her so much. Today the kids and I did her chores for her and then cooked her a nice seafood dinner - stuffed salmon, steamed shrimp, baked potato and a caeser salad. My 16 year old baked her a cake. We couldn't find the round pans so we used a Santa face topped with a heart shape. It was lovely . The next birthday is mine on June 13th. I will be on the trail so o hope to share a few beers with my new hiker family. Then my sons birthday will be September 12th. I plan to have completed my theuhike by then. Its funny how every event in my life these days is viewed thru my hike. Two more weeks and everything will be my thruhike.
Date: 2010-02-24
To: Squirrel Fight
Miles today: 0.0

10 days till departure and I realized I haven¢t checked the 15 day forecast yet? I must really be blocking out all anticipation of the date. Usually for backpacking trips I¢ll have the 15 day forecast engraved on greeting cards 15 minutes after it¢s posted. I think I am so afraid of the proverbial shoe dropping that I am trying to hide my emotions from its locating radar. I¢m not really sure that I will ever truly believe that this trip is a go until I am on the interstate heading South.    By the way, the 15 day forecast is outstanding ¢¦ highs in the 50¢s and lows in the 30¢s with only some light showers predicted for the night of the 7th. But you know what they say, predict/wish in one hand and ¢¦ in the other. Not that it matters. The weather will be what the weather will be and I will live in it whatever it is.   In other news, I volunteered for The Six Journals Project and will be carrying a paper journal until Fontana where I will mail it back to the creator of the project. From there my pages will be photocopied and posted online before the journal will be sent off to some other sucker, errr, volunteer. I received my journal the other day and wrote my first entry last night. My wife and kids are going to take it for a few days to write what they think of all this, and then I will start journaling my thruhike in it. I will also be journaling on here. Not sure which one will get the short end of the stick if I find my time limited. I suppose I could write in the journal and then take a pic of each page as I finish it.   The Taxes are completed and only need our signatures before mailing out. Unhappily, we owe money. My middle daughter no longer qualifies for the child care credit which cuts in half how much childcare expense we can write off. Weird, with two or more kids we can count $6000 worth of expenses even if $5800 of it went to my youngest and $200 went to the middle child. With one child we can only count $3000 of his expenses. Oh well, the country can use it. More crack money for the homeless and $600 dollar hammers for the military.    Now my last chore is to entice the squirrels out of the attic and close up their access. I tried wearing a female squirrel suit and wiggling my furry tail at the boy squirrels, but all that did was rile up the females and bring out the cops. Guess I will have to go up their and face them mano-e-mano and may the better squirrel win. My wife already has an exterminator and 911 on speed dial.
Date: 2010-03-03
To: Decision Making
Miles today: 0.0

I am packing up the rest of my stuff from my office today. Tomorrow is my last day. I've had two going away parties here at work. The first was a big one with most of the people from the main office who collected enough money to allow me to purchase the Droid phone. That will be a great asset on my hike. The second one was yesterday with just my smaller satellite office. The 6th of us had a great time eating Thai food. I am proud of what a great team I set up here and know they will do a great job for whoever is lucky enough to fill my position. I will miss working with them everyday. While packing I decided to have fun with my decision making dart board. Here are the before and after pics. I depart for the trail in 3 days. It is so hard to believe that this is really happening. No point in dwelling on what things I have forgotten to take care of before I leave. My family will just have to deal with them to the best of their ability. I'll help as much as I can, but they will just have to rise to the challenge. I am confident that they can. One of the biggest reasons I wanted the Droid is that, hopefully, I will find signal strength to be able to use the internet to help them with anything that can be handled online. Sure, that's not completely losing myself in my hike, but one does what one must. The easier it is for them, the less chance that some problem at home will require me to leave the trail early (everything can be looked at in a selfish manner if you try hard enough )Well, that's enough for now, this office won't pack itself. Oh, one more thing. I borrowed an idea and line of text from Frankie The Sleepers journal. Thanks to his posts I now know how to send pics taken from my Droid to an online photo album so that they show up on a Google Map at the location where I took them with a date/time stamp and a short caption. Thanks Frankie. The link is the last word on the bottom of this journal entry where it says "Follow my progress here". Nothing there now but a few test pics, but keep watching and I will fill it up.