morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2007-05-07
From: Peck's Corner

To: Cosby Knob
Miles today: 12.9
Weather: clear sky

May 7, 2007 Monday (Day 26 - Peck's Corner Shelter to Cosby Knob, 12.9 miles) With the nicer weather, got a 7:30 start and made the 12.9 miles to the Shelter at Cosby Knob by 2:00. A few minutes later, a two-time thru-hiker 'Moose' who is on his third thru arrived. Shortly after Moose arrived, while I was scooping out the surroundings, I nearly walked into a bear. It was grazing on some leafy foliage and when I came around a couple of biggish trees, there it was, only about 20 feet from where I was walking. I quickly retreated to the shelter and grabbed my camera. The bear had no fear of us whatsoever and we were able to take several nice photos while he hung around for 20 minutes or so. Just as Hot-Lips arrived, the bear decided it had enough and it disappeared into the forest. That night, we had a visitor, you know who, come in the shelter and sniff around a bit but we had been especially careful with our food so there was nothing there.
Date: 2007-05-08
From: Cosby Knob

To: Standing Bear Hostel
Miles today: 10.4
Weather: few clouds

May 8, 2007 Tuesday (Day 27 - Cosby Know Shelter to Standing Bear Hostel, 10.4 miles)Got another 7:30 start and made the 10.4 miles to the Hostel by noon. I guess I could have gone on, but the idea of a nice warm shower was too much to pass on. Curtis, who runs the hostel, was a very nice host. It ended up being a very nice place to relax and spend the night. Hot-Lips, Spud, SloPoke, Moose, F-Stop, and a few other thru-hikers were there plus a bunch of guys getting dropped off at Fontana dam and hiking the Smokys back to the hostel.
Date: 2007-05-09
From: Standing Bear Hostel

To: Roaring Fork Shelter
Miles today: 15.4
Weather: clear sky

May 9, 2007 Wednesday (Day 28 - Standing Bear Hostel to Roaring Fork Shelter, 15.4 miles)It seemed like the whole day was uphill! Had my first trail magic today! After grinding uphill all morning, when I got to Max Patch road, a group of guys just finishing doing some trail maintenance tossed me an ICE COLD BEER. It really hit the spot. Caught up to 9Lives again today... He has been about a half day ahead for the past few days but he must get a late start because I seem to catch him mid-day. He continues on 4-5 miles after I stop. We climbed up Max Patch together. Great place to spend some time. Just as we were leaving a couple walked up and provided yet more trail magic (sodas, chips, cookies, etc.) They (Skirt and Mad Scientist) are former thrus spending the day giving out goodies. The Shelter seems new, but is pretty small and the water is notvery near. My 3 ounce 2 gallon REI folding bucket came in handy again as all were free to take from it.
Date: 2007-05-10
From: Roaring Fork Shelter

To: Deer Park Mtn Shelter
Miles today: 14.8
Weather: scattered clouds

May 10, 2007 Thursday (Day 29 - Roaring Fork Shelter to Deer Park Mtn Shelter, 14.8 miles)Just a few miles short of Hot Springs, but I still had a bunch of food left and wanted to save the price of a bed in town. Hot-Lips continued on to town, but Moose & Spud had the same idea that I did. It could have been a bad decision, because the bugs here were awful. I hike in long pants, so only my arms/face are exposed but I had many welts. Moose hikes in shorts and his legs were totally full of big red welts. So much for going cheep.
Date: 2007-05-11
From: Deer Park Mtn Shelter

To: Hot Springs N.C.
Miles today: 3.2
Weather: scattered clouds

May 11, 2007 Friday (Day 30 - Deer Park Mtn Shelter to Hot Springs N.C. 3.2 miles)Made it to town for breakfast at the wonderful Smoky Mtn. Diner.Moose & I got spots at the Duckett bunkhouse. I am in a bit of aspot here, because I want to go to my nephew's college graduationup in Lexington Va. on the 16th, and I don't have enough time toget to Erwin by the 14th so I can get some sort of ride northarriving no later than the evening of the 15th. So it looks likeI have to cool my heels here. That is a bit sad, because I havebeen traveling with Hot-Lips for nearly a month now and he will bemoving on tomorrow morning and I won't. Late in the day, SloPoke,who had fallen behind the past few days also made it to town.That evening Hot-Lips bought us all a beer at the Paddlers Pub.
Date: 2007-05-12
To: Hot Springs N.C.
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: scattered clouds

May 12, 2007 Saturday (Day 31 - Hot Springs)Hot-Lips and Moose headed out this morning.A couple hours later, Spud also hit the trail. Spent the morning trying to figure the best way to Lexington. It looks like I will be getting a ride into Greenville this evening so I can catch an 8:30 Greyhound north. Had some time to kill so I left my pack in SloPokes room and hiked out of town to the first road crossing. Caught a ride back to town.
Date: 2006-09-23
To: View Entry
Miles today: 0.0

Well, here we go again!!!!! The A.T. is calling us once more. Our plans are to begin around the 1st of March in 2007 at Springer and head for Katahdin! In 2005 we finished a bit shy (Gorham, N.H. ) and want to revisit the trail in order to complete it. This year though I am officially retired and have no J.O.B. to keep me from going the whole route. This is something I MUST do just to get if off my back. GA-ME is my goal and I will not lose track of that goal this year!!So this is our initial entry and our commitment entry! Looking forward to seeing all of you out on the trail and hearing from all our supporters from 2005. You have all been great! Thank you so much! Continue to remember us in your thoughts and prayers as we begin the quest one more time! Best to all of you!!
Date: 2006-10-31
To: Approval by RTF
Miles today: 0.0

Hi again all!Last year our walk was to benefit a wonderful charity called Outreach International. We feel it was a very successful fundraiser that has enabled O.I. to further reach out to people who are in desparate need. It is a teaching organization that teaches people how to help themselves!This year our walk will be for the Restoration Trail Foundation with proceeds going toward the preservation of a very old historic site here in the Kirtland, Ohio area. We have served here over the past 7 months as tour guides, gardeners, etc. and have come to appreciate and love the significance of this historic temple. It is just plainly and simply, magnificent! It is the site of the early origins of the Community of Christ faith and the history of those early people is so fascinating. Upkeep and maintenance to the buildings and grounds require a lot of help and any money received from pledges from our walk will go a long way toward the preservation of this facility.This past weekend we proposed our walk to the RTF and they whole-heartedly agreed to support us in this endeavor! So again we are committed and becoming so excited about beginning our journey again this year.Our walk this year will start somewhere around the 1st or 2nd week of March( we will keep a watch on the weather very closely)!So we will see you all very, very soon. If not in person, I am sure we'll be in your thoughts and prayers because that's just the way you folks all are!Best to all!!!!
Date: 2006-10-31
To: Reason for Leaving
Miles today: 0.0

Thought I would also share a very important reason for leaving the trail early last year.The picture says it all! Ethan was born as we were climbing up out of Dalton, Mass. I remember clearly that day. I had mentioned to Dorothy that I felt we needed to call Emily, our youngest daughter, and see how she was doing. We knew she was getting close to her time of delivery. We called and to our surprise we received our daughter Sarah on the line informing us that Emily was in the delivery room having one of our precious grandsons as we spoke. It just so happened that Emily was coming out of delivery as we were speaking and we were one of the first people she was able to speak to. Wow!!! What an experience!! The rock we were sitting on is probably still wet from tears reflecting happiness and homesickness at the same time. Anyway from that point on our thoughts were with Emily and Ethan. We wanted to see him so badly! So we were torn between finishing and going home. We elected to go home after a real inner struggle.Ethan has been a real joy! As have our other grandchildren. We now have Five!!!! Can you believe it? There is Kieran, Jacob, Jordyn, Little Abby (born Sept. 27, 2006), and Ethan. We are certainly proud, very proud, very, very proud grandparents!!!!So there you have it! We have given orders to our children this year that no pregnancies are allowed!!! Ha!!!! We will sure miss them as we journey, but will be totally committed to finishing this year.Till later,
Date: 2006-11-23
To: Happy Holidays!!
Miles today: 0.0

Wow!!! So many people are sending us emails and wishing us the best for our next journey on the great AT! Thanks so much and it is wonderful hearing from all of you. We wish you the best of the holiday season! May it be all that you desire it to be!We are anxiously awaiting our next twelve weeks until around the 1st week in March. We have been looking at pictures and reading journals and also, just today, ordered our 2007 AT books. Do any of you have any knowledge or experience with the Big Agnus sleep pads? We hear they are wonderful and we are considering ordering two of them. In 2005 we used thermo-rests and just think we need a little more padding to get a good nights sleep! We are looking forward to hearing and seeing all of our trail family again! Springer fever is running rampant in our household! How about all of you!!Again, Happy Holidays! See you all soon!!!!
Date: 2006-12-26
To: almost 2007
Miles today: 0.0

Well, here we are almost in 2007!! That means in about 10 weeks (2nd week in March) Dorothy and Toto will be heading for Katahdin once again!! We are so excited to say the least!We have been busy with preparations including a trip to the REI store in Pittsburgh! What a great place to visit, with wonderful sales people! Dorothy was able to get her Big Agnes sleep pad and some really good fitting boots. She has a tough time with fit as her feet are a little wider than usual and she seems to be allergic to some of the material often lining boots. She tried these here in Kirtland, Ohio walking all over Malls, etc. and has not had any problems. So hopefully they will do her well on the trail. They were the Montrail brand, (Hmmm not sure that is spelled properly).We also purchased some very nice lights. We learned from our 2005 experience that the ones we had before just were not bright enough. They were light enough but not bright enough. These put forth great light and we also have colored filters that will not disturb others so much in the shelters. Socks, liners, gloves were also purchased so Dorothy had a good birthday on the 13th of December. I have checked on fares to Atlanta and believe we will purchase Greyhound tickets from Athens, Ohio. Much cheaper than rail or air and the time on the bus is even shorter than the railway. Our plans are to go to Atlanta and then have one of our friends from the trail, Tater, who lives in Atlanta meet us and take us on up to Springer. I haven't contacted him, yet but plan on doing that perhaps even today. He is a wonderful through-hiker who opened his cabin up to us in Hiawassee in 2005.So plans are going well! Time is passing very, very rapidly! Yippee!! Springer fever is running rampant and we can hardly wait to be out there!!!Hope you all have had the happiest of holidays!! We will see Ya'll soon on the trail!
Date: 2006-12-27
To: The Date Is Set!!!
Miles today: 0.0

March 9, 2007--That is the day that we leave for Springer Mountain!!! Actually that is the day that we head for Athens, Ga. where "Tater" will pick us up. For those of you who read our journal in 2005 you will remember "Tater". He is the person that met us at Blue Mountain Shelter and took us to his cabin in Hiawasee, let us shower, fed us, he just did everything for us. Our friendship has continued and he will once again take us to his cabin on Friday evening and then transport us to Springer the following day (Saturday). He plans on meeting us again at Blue Mountain shelter so we can again enjoy the luxury of his cabin and his hospitality. He is not the same "Tater" that walked the trail in 2006. Our "Tater" thru-hiked, I believe, in or around 2000 and has plans to do it again in about 5 years. He maintains a section of the trail not far from his cabin. We are so appreciative of Tater, as we are of so many of our trail friends!!The Greyhound tickets are even purchased! We will leave Charleston, W.Va. at around 12:30 A.M and arrive in Athens, Ga. around 3:45 P.M. A long ride on the bus but the price was really good and faster than the Amtrak! Charleston is only a short drive from our home here in Ohio. So we are very excited!!The new 2007 Data books have arrived and we are busy planning our itinerary. The tent will be resealed within the next couple of days also. Things are hectic but we are so aware of just how soon the next nine weeks will pass and we really need to be ready.Ok, folks, that is the update for today! We will keep you posted on all the new events! See a lot of you on March 10,2007!!!!!!!! Our 2005 trail journal link is www.trailjournals.com/mikeanddianaduhl. Also our new pocketmail address is dorothyandtoto@pocketmail.com.
Date: 2007-01-16
To: Just an Update
Miles today: 0.0

Today marks 51 days until our 2007 journey begins!! Time is flying by, but not fast enough as we are so excited about being on the trail again. We have our tent re-sealed, and have ordered and received our new "Jet-boil" stove for cooking. We switched to this type of stove after seeing Snowman and Icecicle use theirs during the 2005 hike. It is a little heavier, but we think it will heat and cook faster than the other. Another disadvantage would be the canisters you have to carry and dispose of, but again we think it will be worth it. Dorothy's new boots are working out very well. They are the Montrail Gentor W1481's. The fit has been perfect. She has worn them on several small hikes (six to seven miles) and says they feel very comfortable. We are still going through the data books and getting our itinerary finalized. Seems as though the more you work at these things the more excited you become!!So that is about it for now! The countdown is on and soon we will be out there beginning the 2007 journey. Keep the emails coming!!! Any suggestions? By all means let us know!! See ya'll soon!!!
Date: 2007-02-15
To: Itinerary and Mail Drops
Miles today: 0.0

Ok!! 22 days and counting!!! Tater called just the other day and touched base with us again. I have heard from Feelin' Free, Phoenix, and others and things are really heating up for our new 2007 journey. I have completed the itinerary that is of course, very rough, but if all goes well we should be finished around the 17th of September. More realistically would be around the 1st of October. I have also listed the mail drops on our journal site and if you notice, there are around twenty of them!! These are not places necessarily where we will be sending boxes, but primarily where we will just check the post offices to see if there are any letters, etc. from our friends. Most of our resupplying will come from those towns and grocery stores that we pass along the way. We will be sending maps and switching out winter gear for summer gear and vice versa along the way, but that will be about it except for a few boxes and prescription meds that our daughter is sending to us periodically. Actual boxes mailed from our point will be around 5.So my friends, check out our mail drops and drop us a line every now and then!! We would love to hear from you. Oh, yes, cookies, snicker bars, m & m's, etc. will be much appreciated also. Just keep in mind to think small when sending anything!!! Best to all!! Continue to pray for us as we begin our new journey!!
Date: 2007-02-21
To: Getting Closer!!
Miles today: 0.0

We are now only 2 weeks from the start of our journey. 16 more days before we begin!! I wonder where we will be by this time next month. According to my meticulous plan and day by day itinerary, we should be in Rock Gap Shelter only three miles this side of Franklin, N.C.!!! Course, from our 2005 experience, I am not gullible enough to believe that the itinerary is set in concrete. We will be somewhere in that proximity, depending on weather, our bodies, injury, etc. So many factors will contribute to our itinerary. In 2005 we spent 3 days in the Fontana Dam area waiting out a huge snowstorm in the Smokies! Oh well, it is all part of the experience.Dorothy and I have been busy moving back to our permanent home anticipating our departure from Charleston, W.Va. on the 9th. We needed the three weeks to finalize everything and I think we are doing a pretty good job getting things in order. We have our Leki sticks refurbished, thanks to the Leki corporation! Wow! I sent them back and they had them finished and shipped back within about two days. Only thing I paid for was the shipping to Buffalo! I certainly have nothing but praise to say about them. Diana got a new pair of fleece pants for sleeping and town and I got a new pair of hiking pants. Also a brush for our water tubes, the all important trowel for those special little holes to be dug in the woods, and water platypus that we will use to carry to the shelters for cooking and filtering. All from REI, another wonderful store for shopping. Within two or three days of ordering your shipment is at your doorstep.Our "family" in Kirtland gave us a wonderful going away party! Very fun!! Diana and I gave trail names to all our Visitor Center family! Names like "Yappy" for Pat, "Detrails" for Sam, "Numchecks" for Joan, "Honeybear" for Carl, "Spiritwalker" for Steve, "Traveler" or "Roadrunner" for Lach, "Mississippi Queen" for Christin, "Betty Crocker" for Margaret, and "Desert Gem" for Barb! Gosh we love you guys!!!!! We also took our packs down and showed them some of what we carry on the trail. The food was incredible-shrimp (thanks Joan), steak and Carl's infamous chicken (again thanks Honeybear!), tons of dessert, just a wonderful evening!Then at church the following Sunday (11th), we were able to show a power point of our 2005 AT hike, and then enjoy a potluck with everyone afterward! Our "Spiritwalker" even offered a special prayer for our safety on the trail! All of these people have been a tremendous blessing to us and we thank all from the very depths of our hearts!!! We will see you in September!!In the meantime, again, we ask for your thoughts and prayers as we begin again!WE ARE ON THE RUNWAY AND ARE APPROACHING DEPARTURE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!See you all out there soon!
Date: 2007-03-04
To: 5 days!!!
Miles today: 0.0

Well, we are into our final week here at home. Our youngest daughter Emily, and our grandson Ethan, were here this weekend for final goodbyes and a final briefing on taking care of bills and journals, etc. We sure appreciate all those who are helping us on this journey!!! Very sad to say the darn goodbyes, but we will be ok once we are on the trail. I have the grandkids loaded on my MP-3 so that we can take a peek at them every now and then.Our packs are loaded, except for a few small items,and weigh in at around 30 lbs---not including the water. Still would like to decrease this a bit and will be able to as we ship our winter stuff back somewhere around Damascus.I have only one more item of business to tend to. I must find a new home for my two black labs. They are great dogs, but leaving them alone is not good for them. So I am praying that they will find a good home before we leave. It is a very difficult thing for me to have to do, but I know it is for the best. I will call "Tater" tomorrow and finalize the details of picking us up in Athens, Ga. Sure looking forward to seeing him again and meeting his wife. Special people!!Ok, that is our update! We head for Charleston, W.Va. on Thursday evening and leave at 12:30 in the morning on Friday. Arrive in Athens, Ga. at 3:45 P.M. on the 9th. Then will be at Amicalola Falls on the 10th to begin our walk!!See you out there very, very soon!!!!!
Date: 2007-03-08
To: Time To Go!!!!
Miles today: 0.0

Today is the day!!! Finally it is here!! We leave in about 4 hours to head for Charleston, W.Va. to catch a bus for Ga. We have checked and re-checked our backpacks and believe there is nothing else to really do except wait out the next 4 hours. All preps. are done and the next entry will be "on the trail"!!!!Again our thanks to all who have helped us prepare for this trip: The staff at Kirtland Temple, namely Barb, Margaret, and Lach; to the congregation at Kirtland Community of Christ; to Steve for his special prayer in our behalf: to Emily and Andy for managing all the bills, etc.; Sarah and Eric for again holding us up in prayer and support; and to all our grandchildren Kieran, Jacob, Jordyn, Abigail, and Ethan for just being the greatest grandchildren in the world. Oh, yes, and to all of you out there who constantly support us vicariously in your thoughts and prayers! You all have been and continue to be wonderful, wonderful people!!!Tater, we will see you at 3:45 P.M tomorrow!! Sure looking forward to seeing you.The best to all of you! Until we transmit again, see ya'll on the trail!!!
Date: 2007-03-09
To: From Ohio to Georgia
Miles today: 0.0

Last night we got to the bus station early so that Mom and my brother could get back home early. We had not known that the station would be closed until 11:30pm when it would open up again. So we went across the street to the Charleston (WV) Civic Center and waited several hours inside just watching people coming and going. We sat on the floor next to our packs and had some strange looks at times. We must have looked like homeless persons. Surprisingly none questioned us about what we were doing there. Anyway, we boarded the bus at around 12:30am and after a couple of transfers we reached our destination of Athens, GA at about 4:15pm where Tater met us.After driving back to his home we realized we did not have our camera. Either it fell out of the bag I was carrying it in or someone lifted it out of my bag. We did not get a phone call saying it had been found after calling to have them check where we were seated. We did not have any expectations of getting it back but we were hoping. Trying not to let that ruin our day we went to town and bought a replacement. We enjoyed our visit over dinner at a restaurant with our hosts and then started the drive to their cabin 2 hours away in the mountains. Since we were late getting here and Tater and Diane asked if we wanted to rest tomorrow and start hiking Sunday we decided that we could do that without losing any time if we didn't hike the approach trail. Also, our hosts will take us to the outfitter at Neel's Gap to look for Toto a new pair of boots and to the drug store to refill a prescription.So, we are way out here in the woods on this mountain and ready for a great night of sleep.Life is Great!Dorothy & Toto