morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2007-07-25
To: Back to Square One
Miles today: 0.0

One source of insecurity regarding the trail is my fear of the unknown--this fear has kept me from doing countless things in the past, and I'm ready to feel the fear and do it anyway. So I've made a little--as my friend Casey's mother puts it (the term has thus far been applied only to the business of finding a rich husband)--Plan of Action. Excuse me if the POA is slightly (okay--blatantly) obvious and intuitive, but here it is. I plan to go on weekend "backpacking" trips a couple times a month so I can get comfortable using all of my new gear, since I now have a fairly large collection which must be tested. This is nothing new--the POA has been firmly etched in my head ever since I decided to hike the AT. The problem is that monsoon season has migrated from India and rooted itself in central Texas, to the detriment of the POA. This fact has separated me from Hillcountry trails all summer because every time I check the weather I see 40-70% chance of thunderstorms for every day of the week.This week I decided that if the weather doesn't clear up soon, I would go hiking anyway because it would be good practice for rain on the AT. I was all set--this weekend I would FINALLY go alone to Lost Maples State Natural Area and do some primitive camping. This was especially exciting because all of my summer hammock accessories are ready and itching to be used in the context of forest--or at least tied to two trees instead of being tied to one tree and one welded fence post. I've had my tarp tensioners ready since the Harry Potter movie came out (is it sad that I tell time by Harry Potter?), and I haven't had my hammock and tarp set up since then.This morning as I was flipping channels and attempting to ignore the news, as usual, I came a cross this news story:"Lightning kills man at Lost Maples State Natural AreaSAN ANTONIO ¢ A 50-year-old man was killed in stormy weather at Lost Maples State Natural Area when he took shelter under a tree that was struck by lightning, officials said.Officials identified the victim as William Clardy of San Antonio.Clardy and his two teenage sons took shelter under a cedar tree Tuesday afternoon when a storm blew through the park, located about 65 miles northwest of San Antonio, said Bandera County Constable Don Walters.After the lightning strike, the older boy went for help, but a responding park ranger and medic could not revive Clardy, said Rod Chalmers, a Texas Parks and Wildlife game warden.Walters said the boys suffered non-life-threatening injuries. Both were taken to University Hospital."This story, along with Certain's harrowing account of her lightning adventures, helped me decide that I may not want to be hiking this weekend at LMSNA....although Lost Maples should be safe now, since lightning doesn't strike the same place twice. Alright, that was bad morbid humor......So now I'm back to square one--me looking longingly at my heap of yet-unused gear :\On a lighter note, I've caught my dog alone in the living room several times this week watching science fiction programs on TV. He's a trekkie, and I think I've heard him speak Klingon.
Date: 2007-08-05
To: The Great Firearm Debate
Miles today: 0.0

There is a certain amount of risk a person must take when planning a thru-hike and living in South Texas--the risk of being repeatedly called "stupid". This is how 90% of conversations about the AT end up:Rachel: I'm going to hike the Appalachian Trail next April.Person: What the heck is the Appalachian Trail?Rachel: It's a trail that starts in Georgia and ends in Maine--it's about 2175 miles long.Person: Wow! Who are you going with?Rachel: I'm going alone, but I won't BE alone. Lots of people hike the trail every year, and the hikers get to know each other pretty well and look out for each other.Person: Are you going to take a gun?Rachel: No. The trail is statistically safe, and a gun would probably be dead weight in my pack that I'd be unwilling to carry. Even if I was threatened I probably wouldn't be able to dig a gun out of my pack in time.Person: Oh.....that's stupid. How are you going to defend yourself?At this point I usually just walk away, because no matter what explanations I offer I get the inevitable, "But what if....?"Apparently my dad has decided that I am "allowed" to hike the AT if I get a concealed handgun carrier permit and pack some heat. Most of my relatives feel the same way, as well as my boyfriend and his family. Most Texans I've talked to about the AT (family, friends and coworkers) have never heard of the Appalachian Trail. Some have a vague idea of the existence to the AT, but their knowledge is usually limited to the length of the trail. Guns are popular in Texas. Everyone in my family hunts. Both of my parents have concealed handgun permits, and keep guns in their vehicles, even in national parks where they are illegal. My dad collects guns. My grandpa sleeps with a handgun under his pillow. When I lived with Oliver, he kept a revolver under the mattress and a shotgun in the pantry. Oliver has a strong desire to get a concealed handgun permit and carry a small revolver on his person.It's been difficult to convince people who have no knowledge of the AT, much less the spirit of community which revolves around the trail, that I don't need any of their beloved firearms. I live life every day unarmed. I went 4 years to a university where the notorious Charles Whitman shootings occurred, always unarmed. I roamed the streets of Austin at night, past dark alleyways unarmed.   I routinely visit post offices, which could possibly house the proverbial disgrunted mailman, unarmed. As far as "stupid" goes--it's stupid to worry about my being attacked by people when I leave a highly populated area for a sparsely populated area. Common sense would dictate that risk of being attacked decreases. If anything, my chances of untimely death decline dramatically once I stop driving/riding in a vehicle every day. Since I'm statistically more likely to be in an accident than to be attacked, my parents SHOULD be shoving me out the door into the wilderness.
Date: 2007-08-14
To: Dream a Little Dream of Me...
Miles today: 0.0

"Stars shining bright above youNight breezes seem to whisper "I love you"Birds singing in the sycamore treeDream a little dream of meSay "Night-ie night" and kiss meJust hold me tight and tell me you'll miss meWhile I'm alone and blue as can beDream a little dream of meStars fading but I linger on, dearStill craving your kissI'm longing to linger till dawn, dearJust saying thisSweet dreams till sunbeams find youSweet dreams that leave all worries behind youBut in your dreams whatever they beDream a little dream of me"...Performed by Cass Elliot.I have this song playing on my computer in a continuous loop. I think I'm on the 32nd repeat. Can't get enough of it. This has something to do with my attempt to read the entire instructions for making a Potomac underquilt for my hammock. It was utterly exhausting.It's also a nostalgia day. Somehow this song is perfect for nostalgia day. I've got to stop looking at the myspace pages of people I graduated high school with. Too many pictures of babies. I have a baby. He's covered in black hair, he has four legs, and he's not allowed in most reputable public dining establishments.I got a job. Not because I was the best candidate for the job, but mostly because I am the boss's daughter. I am a dental assistant. Income good. I think it was meant to be a ploy my parents invented in their hopes that I will want to be a dentist and take over my mother's practice. Doubtful. But I am grateful to have a job. Eh.I think short stubby sentences with very little elaboration signify mental exhaustion on my part. Whew, that last one was a doozy. Need sleep.Dream a little dream of me......
Date: 2007-09-12
To: Waiting
Miles today: 0.0

It is 10:37 PM and I'm waiting for an ebay auction to finish. Hopefully I will be the winner, especially since the time is getting late and responsible people who work in the morning go to bed earlier than midnight. I work in the morning, but I hesitate a bit to call myself responsible, per se. Workin' on it.I'm bidding on a pair of gore-tex socks to supplement the non gore-tex shoes I ordered online the other day. Yeah, rigid REI guy. I DIDN'T get gore-tex shoes. And I'm NOT crazy (okay, that's negotiable) OR stupid. But I figured I'd like some gore-tex socks at the beginning of the trail when the rain and temperature alike are cold cold cold, and gore-tex has a reputation for being warm warm warm. I would rather have warm sweat wet feet than icy cold rain wet feet. And so far the socks are only going for $4.99 and I'm the high bidder...Updating the ol' trail journal was the only thing I could think of doing at the moment. Because you can only spend so much time looking at pictures of the yet unattainable SMD Starlite pack. I reckon I've spent over ten cumulative minutes today looking at the picture so far today. I'm sure that's quite enough.Ah! As Borat would say--"Great Success!"
Date: 2007-09-20
To: Curiouser and Curiouser
Miles today: 0.0

It is frikkin' "Mid Septembert" already. It is quickly becoming LATE "Septembert". Someone should alert Six Moon Designs to that fact.Yesterday I was looking for some ibuprofen to help my aching knee, and I was actually looking in the cabinet for a bottle labeled "Vitamin I". It just doesn't signify. I haven't even been on the trail yet and I'm developing curious idiosyncrasies. And joint pain. Ah, well. Whadyagonnado?
Date: 2007-10-09
To: Ho hum
Miles today: 0.0

I've started walking regularly (again). No knee problems this time. I just have to be careful to stretch it before I walk any considerable distance. On the AT I may need to stop and take stretching breaks every so often so that I can stave off the pain as long as possible. I'm also trying to let my feet be more flexible when I walk--a problem that may come from my habit of wearing a pair of 10 dollar flip flops all year long. I think I started walking stiff-footed so my flops wouldn't make so much noise.Last week I had the honor of sucking the spit out of someone (I'm a dental assistant--that's my job) who has walked 500 miles of the AT. Usually my conversations with people about the AT center around my deranged condition--apparently it is odd that I enjoy walking. And my conversations with my mom's patients usually center on their astonishment that I don't want to be a dentist. My conversation (well, as much of a conversation you can have with a person having a tooth drilled) with him centered around how wonderful the trail is, and how he would really like to night hike Shenandoah Nat'l Park. It was refreshing. He wasn't an aspiring thru-hiker, or an aspiring section-hiker. He's just a guy that likes to hike, but hasn't hiked on the AT since the mid 1980s.I took a monumental step last week. I cut the spectra on my HH as well as the ridgeline. Yes, I realize no one knows what I'm talking about. But it was real exciting, lemme tell ya.Amid all of this planning, I hope someone reminds me to take the GRE and apply to some grad schools for spring 2009. I'm pretty sure it's library school for me One bonus for going back to school is that when I graduate again, I get to plan another large scale crazy vacation--Ollie says he'll go with me and backpack Europe. Aaahhhhhhh....I love having so many things to look forward to.
Date: 2007-10-14
To: Patiently waiting for dusk...
Miles today: 0.0

I'm ready for the sun to start setting. It's 3:27 PM and I'm dying to hang my hammock and play with my new underquilt that came in the mail on Friday. Problem is: The sun is up and it is HOT in the sun. And there's no shade in my one-and-only hanging spot. I used to have a shady hanging spot, but it's now home to a crumbling bale of hay and a deer-shaped target with five arrows in its eyeball. My new hanging spot is the frame of our old batting cage, which just so happens to be in a horse/cow pasture. Last time I tried to lounge in my hammock one of our horses blew snot on it. The ol' gals always come and breathe on my neck hoping that I'll pull carrots or sweet feed out of my pocket. And cows just stink. And it's hot. And now I'm waiting.A few weeks ago Oliver's dad asked me what I was going to use for protection on the trail. In reply I grinned and held up my balled fist. I don't think he liked this answer, so he said he would make me a knife to wear on my hipbelt. He then tried to teach me all the spots on a human being I should aim to stab to do the most damage. I hope he doesn't make me a huge bowie knife or anything. I think I'll let Ollie intervene. I mean, I've already got a swiss army knife that can cut (maybe) butter. I'm crossing my fingers for, if anything, a small pocket knife. It might be another good selling point for his business--"Jerry Stone Custom Handmade Knives on the Appalachian Trail".I've been getting a LOT of gear in the mail. I have almost everything I need, and now it's time to conserve funds. My countdown timer says I have 5 months, 9 days, 8 hours and 0 minutes before I set foot on Springer, and I have $2000 in savings. I'd like to have $2500 added to my account by the time I leave, so I will have to save $500 per month. I have no bills. Piece of cake. So, in other words....no beer for Rachel at the Renaissance festival. And no souvenirs. Darn.
Date: 2007-10-29
To: It's official--
Miles today: 0.0

I am the freak that walks around the track with fully loaded backpack sans food, drinking out of a soft nalgene canteen with tube and bite valve talking on the phone saying things like "Well, I'm glad my dog's just allergic to fleas...although he may have a tumor on his nipple. At least he's always trying to scratch it off..." while trying to amble in such a way as to alleviate knee pain. Yup, that's me.At least I wasn't wearing shorts. Let's just say I haven't been acquainted with a razor for quite awhile. I have to admit, I kind a like the looks of things. It really is a privilege to feel that foreign sensation of leg hair being lifted by a stiff breeze.
Date: 2007-11-25
To: Enthused
Miles today: 0.0

Yikes, March is coming quick! My countdown timer says I have 119 more days. I can hardly believe it. It's cold in Texas. It's been cold since Wednesday night. Good time for testing cold weather gear.Next week I'm going on a cruise. I bought my ticket before I started planning my thru, or I probably would have put the cruise off another year. Yup, Carnival Conquest. Jamaica, Grand Cayman, Cozumel. I know it will be fun....and it's been fun clothing shopping to prepare for it. But I'm not excited about it. Not the way I'm excited about the AT. I'm such a wierdo, and I know it--how can I honestly be more willing to trudge uphill in cold slush than I am to live in luxury (that's a stretch, I know) eating gourmet meals every day for seven days?And Now For Something Completely Different:I have been aspiring to be, just as Elizabeth Bennet, a "great walker". Miss Bennet says, "I do not wish to avoid the walk. The distance is nothing, when one has a motive" before she "continued her walk alone, crossing field after field at a quick pace, jumping over stiles and springing over puddles with impatient activity, and finding herself at last within view of the house, with weary ancles, dirty stockings, and a face glowing with the warmth of exercise" (Pride and Prejudice, Ch 7). And another Pride and Prejudice quote--this time from Miss Bingley speaking scathingly of Elizabeth's propensity to walk: "to walk three miles, or four miles, or five miles, or whatever it is, above her ancles in dirt, and alone, quite alone! what could she mean by it? It seems to me to shew an abominable sort of conceited independence, a most country town indifference to decorum" (P&P, Ch 8).I can only hope that someone in passing comments that I have a curious "indifference to decorum". I've been walking 3-6 miles most days for the past 5 weeks. It's a little disconcerting because I walk on the shoulder of the road outside my house and the speed limit is none other than 70--yes, SEVENTY--miles an hour. That and dogs really seem to enjoy barking and lunging at me. They tend to scare easily, though.But alas, I am not reading "Pride and Prejudice" at the moment. I am reading "Mansfield Park", and I have to say that although I have the healthful constitution of Elizabeth Bennet I have the character of Fanny Price, who "seems almost as fearful of notice and praise as other women are of neglect". I'm shy and nervous and easily embarrassed and quiet and uncomfortable with novelty. I guess I'll just have to see whether the AT helps me sink some of the Fanny Price and gain some of that peculiar Eliza Bennet variety of "conceited independence".
Date: 2007-12-13
To: Gasp
Miles today: 0.0

Wow! Twenty days sure melted into nothingness when I changed my countdown timer to my new target start date.Only 80 (yes E-I-G-H-T-Y) more days.In the voice of Peggy Hill, "Oh Yeah!"Throughout my hike I will be chaneling the spirits of Bugs and Juniper--past thru-hiking ladies who were adept at putting in long days and resisting the enticements of the almighty zero. Oh, and Birdlegs. Yay for hiking librarians!
Date: 2007-12-30
To: Big Bend 2007
Miles today: 0.0

I finally did an almost-shakedown hike. I say "almost" because I carried an almost fully loaded pack but did not spend the night. When I was coming down from the mountain people kept asking me how the temperature was the night before and I had to reply, "I'm just carrying this weight for fun. And I'm not even being sarcastic."The day after Christmas Oliver, my mom and I decided we'd go camping in Big Bend. We'd been toying with the idea of possibly backpacking and spending a night in the mountains, but since I was the only one with any backpacking gear (you should have seen Oliver's MONSTER sleeping bag!), that idea was out the window. I could've gone by myself......but leaving Ollie and my mom with only each other for company would've made for one heck of an awkward night. So we opted for a dayhike.Here is what Wikipedia says about Emory Peak trail:"The peak can be reached by a tough hike on steep rocky terrain with an elevation gain of approximately 2500'. Once at the base there is a difficult rock scramble to navigate before reaching the top. The view from the top takes in most of the northern section of the Park and a good portion of the Chisos range to the south. One surprise at the top for some hikers is the population of lady bugs on the summit."The part that says, "tough hike on STEEP ROCKY TERRAIN", makes me feel a little better about myself. We had to take a lot of breaks. And once we got to the part where you have to climb a rock face like a ladder to reach the actual summit, none of us had enough nerve to brave the hurricane force (and that is only slightly exaggerated) winds blowing in the direction of the 2500 foot dropoff. It didn't feel like a good day to die. And I didn't see any lady bugs.The trail was 9 miles round trip, longer and most likely more difficult than my first day on the AT will be. My so-called bad knee doesn't hurt at all....but I think I injured (not badly) the other one on the steep descent. I'm going to come up with some sort of stretching routine for future hikes.I should also engineer a way to fit everything inside my pack.And by all means try to ignore my belly roll in that picture
Date: 2008-01-02
To: Prep #35 continued
Miles today: 0.0

So I'm sitting, well actually laying, here watching Sex and the City (this is the beauty of those little inventions gingerly labeled "laptop" and "wireless internet") and thought I'd do a little multi-tasking. And yes, I know, this is probably a very odd show to be watching while thinking about hiking gear instead of Prada handbags. Especially since the main character is a self proclaimed "bona fide city girl" who thinks "a squirrel is just a rat with a cuter outfit." But I'm addicted. So there. I thought I'd write a teensy continuation of my last entry which was written sometime between the bleary-eyed sleepy hours of 3 and 4 AM.During my Big Bend andventures last week, I didn't do an overnight backpacking trip but we did camp, so I got to test at least some of my gear. I cooked some noodles in my alcohol stove. Used my sleeping bag (and I was really impressed!). Wore my dry camp clothes, tested my layers in the cold. Wore my hiking clothes, and enjoyed hiking in my skirt and thermals. Knee performance disappointing--it still hurts a little but seems to be getting better. I popped a glucosamine pill a few minutes ago, and I think I ought to get my Superfeet green soon. Tested my Salomon trail runners on an actual rocky trail and was impressed that I had no foot pain until around mile 8. Didn't get to test my hammock (alas, no trees!) but I did sit in the cold with my underquilt wrapped around me and was warm. I used my new trekking poles--they helped me overcome the dratted pull of gravity. It wasn't all good, though. The day after our Emory Peak hike we saw a crow, which my mom informed me, was incredibly bad luck. She learned this off that movie "Operation Dumbo Drop", but I assure you it was terribly terribly accurate. After our day hike we were all a little sore in the legs and feet, and in my case the knees, but not too much more. And then the crow. Oliver twisted his ankle. My mom found out that my dad hurt his shoulder so bad he stayed home from work (a VERY big deal). We went to Santa Elena Canyon where I dropped my brand new 3 day old non-waterproof camera in Terlingua Creek. Then on the way down from the Canyon I re-injured my resting left knee to the extent that I couldn't bend it any more. Santa Elena Canyon really kicked my ass. I had to hobble back to the car straight legged mourning the loss of my camera.All in all it was a good and illuminating trip despite the bad luck. It's all water off a ducks back.I also think I figured out that age old problem of how to fit all your stuff in your pack. I was proud of myself. It involved prodigious use of the biceps.Only 60 more days!