morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2004-10-24
From: Bennington, VT

To: N. Adams, Mass
Miles today: 0.0

HAPPY BIRTHDAY DADDY!!!!!!!!! Finally get a year that I am in a town for both my Mother and Father's birthday. This hasn't happened in 4 years. Normally I'm somewhere like the 100 mile wilderness or Grayson Highlands for their birthdays. I didn't get a chance all day to call Dad until late. I think I woke them up when I called to wish him a happy b-day.   Sorry parents but you know me the evil child I am loves to wake you up and get you out of bed for my phone calls.   I hope it was a good one Daddy. Maybe next year I might actually stay home for your birthday. Or maybe not October is a great month to hike.We're back up to normal mileage again. These twenty something mile days are fun especially with fanny packs.   Our last few miles of Vermont weren't quick enough.   I'm a little sick of all the mud in Vermont.   And the snow.   It seems like every mountain top we've crossed these last few days had snow and ice on top.   The weather has been cold and damp all week. I can't wait until I see 50 degree days with sunshine.   Not that I stay in one place long enough for the cold damp weather to really bother me.While moving our trucks to place to place today we didn't get to eat dinner until late.   We found Colonial Pizza on Main St. in Williamstown open still so that is where we ate.   I believe this is the BEST pizza on the entire trail. So if you ever find yourself in N. Adams or Williamstown, Mass try it for yourself. Stumpknocker and me both agreed on it being the best pizza. We're even thinking about stopping there again tomorrow for dinner.We moved our trucks around early today.   I left my truck up at the parking area on RT 9 outside of Bennington and then we drove to Mtn. Greylock to park for the night. Tomorrow was going to be a busy day.   We planned on hiking 22 miles into Bennington, picking up our mail drops from both Bennington and N. Adams. Plus we had told Kat and Dave, Long Trail end to enders that I had met up north, we would drive them down to Pittsfield to their car.   So we had a lot on our plate for tomorrow.   I know everything will work out fine, it always does.
Date: 2004-10-27
From: N. Adams, Mass

To: Lee, M ass
Miles today: 0.0

This slack packing stuff is the best.   I just love it.   We are moving through Mass in about 3 1/2 days. That is nice.   We're not seeing many people on the trail these days.   Maybe on the weekends we might see a few people but no real long distance hikers.   Kind of sad not to have new people to talk to.   All I have is Stumpknocker to chat with.   And I already know all his stories.   Not that I'm complaining. I like talking with Stumpknocker.   These twenty something mile days are going to catch up to me. I know I should be used to hiking these kinds of miles but I'm not used to doing it under 7 hours.   We're hardly taking breaks during the day.   We stop for only 10 minutes at a time to eat and then start moving again.   I'm starting to miss the lazy mornings in camp sitting around in my sleeping bag.   I'm sure I'll be back to that in no time at all.We returned to our trucks at the end of the day to find Dharma sitting there waitting on us.   Oh good now we have 3 hikers and 2 trucks.   How funny.   The three of us loaded into our trucks and headed down to RT23 outside Great Barrington.   That is where we were making camp for the night.   Dharma was joining us with sleeping in his truck.   I love when we suck others into our world.   Car camping at it's best.
Date: 2004-10-28
From: Lee, M ass

To: Great Barrington
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: clear sky

Breakfast in town with Dharma.   And the Red Socks win the series!!!!!!!!!!!!!   What a great way to start the day. The first thing we saw when we arrived in town was a Red Socks fan standing at the corner with a sign that read "THANK YOU!"   Well it's about time!   John Galt must have been in his glory last night. He's been waitting a long time to see this happen.   That fan on the corner ended up being there all day long just standing and dancing and waving his sign.   After a late start and a reschedule of our miles we were off hiking again.   We parked a truck down Beartown Rd. Not a road that I would want to drive a car down. This was the kind of road that pickups were made for. We even had to ford a beaver fond to continue down the road.   I'm glad I wasn't driving this morning. I would never have gone into the water with my truck. I'm too much of a baby to drive into stuff like that.   Stumpknocker went right through.   I'm not digging the fact that I will have to drive through that later today.   The hiking again today was easy.   I miss Maine!   This flat stuff is too easy.   I can't wait until the weather gets warm enough for me to go up north and hike some more. I guess for now I have to settle for what mass has in store for me.   That is a lot of mud and flat trail and flooded roads.   The days are going by so quickly.   Before I know it I'll be back down in New Jersey.   When we got back to my truck in Lee we found Rainy Jay sitting in his car waitting on us. This road crossing keeps bringing us to old friends. How nice.   Well he wanted to eat dinner with us so we heading into Great Barrington after we picked up Stumpknockers truck. We ate at the same dinner we were at this morning. I was hungry and tired.   We had a big day planned for tomorrow.   We're heading to Jug End road.   I'm starting to wear out.   This hiking stuff is tough doing it our way. Between the fast pace of hiking and all the driving and moving trucks around it's just too much. Stumpknocker wanted to stay in town tonight so we got a room.   Good thing to because my work for next week had changed.   I got the news when I called back home that everyone was looking for me.   I would have to get up at 4:00am to call into the boss tomorrow morning.   I hope it's good news. I really need to be working these next 2 weeks. The money is getting low.
Date: 2004-10-30
From: Great Barrington

To: Salisbury, CT
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: mist

4:00am is not the time to be calling people. I was only afraid I would get a wrong number and wake up some person who just wants to sleep in.   I got a hold of the boss. He now doesn't need me all week. The other boss helped save me by giving me 2 extra days of work. I guess that's better then being broke.   So now I'm up at 4 with a mind that racing.   Now I had to reschedule everything the next couple of days. This sucks.   Now it's 4:00 in the morning. I've been up really since 3:00am because I was so hungry I had to eat at that hour. I love loosing the extra weight but do I really have to get up so early to eat each morning.   And a snickers bar at 3:00am isn't the best but it's all I had at the time.   Stumpknocker had to put up with all of this going on around as he tried to sleep.   Sorry stumpy.   The man must be a saint to put up with me!We got an early start to the dinner this morning.   I was a little wired from the cholate. I couldn't wait to start hiking today. And lucky me we got to drive down that dirt road again.   I'll be happy when we don't have to go down roads like this. Between the beaver pond flooding the road and all those pot holes it was an interesting drive.   I long for a nice smoothe road I can drive 50mph on. I'm feeling a little sluggish today.   And I feel as if I hurt my right knee again.   It feels as if the bone is grinding into the leg bone when I step down. That can't be good.   I hope this gets better real soon so I can run the miles in a couple of days.   Stumpknocker stayed a head of me most of today. Towards the end of the day I saw him sit down in a field to wait on me. That just pisses me off that I'm that far behind. So I ran down there. It feels good to move like that. I wish I could be in this kind of shape all the time. I guess running after stumpknocker this last week paid off. I even think he's trying to train me to start running marathons. At least that's how it feels to be hiking behind him. The next day we hiked from Jug End Rd. to Salisbury. That section proved to be a little rougher then the last week.   A lot more little ups and downs. The weather wasn't all that great either.   It was warm enough just cloudy, wet and windy.   We were surprised to see the amount of people we crossed during the day.   There were tons of people out there. I guess it's because this was CT highest point. Everyone always wants to climb the highest mountains. Why is that?   Isn't the second highest good enough?The rain held off for us to finish our day. I'm happy we didn't get wet! I had another 3 hours of driving to get home tonight. Stumpknocker was heading an hour south of the trail to see friends.   We both had the next couple days off. I was looking forward to the rest.   I hate to drive after a long day.   My legs just cramp up too much while driving. It makes for a painful ride home.   Oh but I had a yuengling and a frozen mug waitting on me in NJ. I couldn't wait to get there.
Date: 2004-10-31
From: CT

To: New Jersey Again!
Miles today: 0.0

Happy Halloween!   I'm happy I am home for this holiday. I love to dress up. Mother had me in the attic looking for something to wear to go see the kids. I dressed as an indian but she made me wear a mask when we got to my sister's house.   We knocked on the door and my neice and nephew answered. We said "Trick or Treat" and they started handing us candy. They didn't know it was us. This was great. So after they handed us candy I said "Is that all you are going to give us?" so they handed us more. They had no clue. But then I laughed and they knew it was us. How funny.We loaded the kids up and headed to my Aunt Donut and Uncle Johnny's house.   My cousin answered the door and again we did the same thing. We bitched about the amount of candy he gave us so he handed us more. Chris, my cousin, told us to take all of it.   How funny.   If a trick or treater bitched about the amount of candy you gave them wouldn't you get insulted?   I would!   Not my family they just hand over more candy. My mother wants to get bags of candy next year and drive around town throwing candy at trick or treaters walking from house to house. She wants to do drive by candying!!!   Yeah I now know where I get it from. How funny could you imagen standing on the curb waitting to cross the street and have someone in a car throwing candy at you? I think it's a great idea.
Date: 2004-12-02
From: Lehigh Gap

To: Wind Gap
Miles today: 20.7
Weather: overcast clouds

I was never good at doing things in order. Why should hiking this trail be any different?   Actually we decided to hike this section today and hike Delware water gap to Wind Gap tomorrow because it is a shorter day then. We had plans to return to Goosebump and Rainbow Slick's house Friday night.   We wanted to get there early.It was a great day to be hiking. The morning climbing out of Lehigh Gap was a little windy and chilly in a skirt.   The slit was on the wrong side!   I hate when that happens.   I saw a lot of hunters in that section. A total of 12 hunters. One guy had a doe dragging behind him on a rope.   I should have taken a picture of that.   I normally at least stop and say hello. It's always nice to be polite to the man with the gun.   Although once in awhile I can't help myself and end up taunting one. I snuck up on one guy he didn't even see me until I was right next to him. Now I didn't me to sneak up on him I was making lots of noise he just didn't hear me behind him.   Well I had to rub it in that I snuck up. I just turned to him and said "Bad hunter how are you supposed to get that deer sneaking up on you?".   Stumpknocker told me later it's not always the best idea to call the man with a gun a bad hunter.   oh well.It was a nice long day on the trail.   I finally finished just after sunset.   I had to I didn't bring my headlamp on the slack with me.   Stumpknocker was sitting down at the bottom of the hill waiting on me.   It was cool to slack like this with one truck.   I dropped him off in the morning then drove to where he ended his day. Then he would pick me up at the parking lot I had orginially dropped him off at.   Great way to slack with 2 people one car.
Date: 2004-12-03
From: Wind Gap

To: Delware Water Gap
Miles today: 15.6
Weather: scattered clouds

I was starting my day at the Water Gap and hiking south to Wind Gap.   I really would rather take the long uphill then the long down.   Besides I knew it was going to be a nice morning to be in the water gap.   It was a really easy start.   Most of that ridge walk is on an old woods road. That made for an easy morning. This made my day go along rather quickly. We got done early enough to head over to Goosebump and Rainbow Slick's by 4:00.   We got to shower and do laundry and have dinner all in doors and not the back of a truck. It was great. And we have the entire weekend to spend with them. Oh goody more people to slack pack with.We had thought we were going to go back into the woods and actually camp out for the first time in a while but that didn't happen. Hey it was going to be cold and who wants to sleep out in that stuff.   Ok yes I have turned into a lazy hiker who likes heat.   I'll change back in another few days. I think.
Date: 2004-12-05
From: Lehigh Gap

To: Eckville
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: clear sky

Saturday we slacked with Rainbow Slick from Lehigh Gap to Rt 309.   Goosebump was going to meet us up there at the end of the day.   She is pregant and isn't allowed to hike that far. Besides it's bad enough that we are all out during hunting season really not a good idea for her to be otu there.   So she came and rescued us at the end of the day. It was another great day.   The weather was perfect not a cloud in the sky.   We should bring Rainbow Slick more often.   We had 13.3 miles to hike and we wanted to hike them as quickly as possible.   We were all looking forward to playing cards tonight.   It was fun to move that fast over those rocks.   I just love rocks some days.   Other days I hate them. But today I loved them. About 1.5 miles to Rt 309 We see Goosebump in her 3 different shades of Hunter Orange coming down the trail.   She got to hike our last mile or so with us.   She just wanted to make us go faster so we can go out to eat. Pregant women aren't they great food is always on their minds.   Works for me!We had dinner at the Country Buffet.   I love all you can eat places. Although I was disappointed that I didn't eat more then I did.   I really wanted to get until I made myself sick.   I'm just starting to get my hiker stomach back after all that time off.   Give me another couple weeks I'll be back to my old self.Sunday Stumpknocker and I hiked 11 miles.   Hawk Mtn. Road to Route 309.   Everyone else had Grandmom's 80th birthday to go to.   We got a ride from them before they headed out to the party. Another nice day to be out on the trail.   beautiful sunny day.   I couldn't wait until we got to palyon the rocks.Goosebump and Rainbow Slick were trying to talk us into staying an extra day.   It worked we ended up deciding to zero tomorrow.   It's supposed to rain and be really cold tomorrow so it would be perfect not to hike.   We are supposed to start hiking and camp out in the woods again.   And we will starting on Tuesday.   I swear!   No really we have it all planned out.   And Tripod and Displaced Hippie are supposed to come out to meet us to tour the Yuengling factory at the end of the week.   I just can't wait to get back out into the woods. Tomorrow!!!!!!! And Yuengling Factory on Friday???!!!!!!!!???!
Date: 2004-12-14
From: Eckville

To: Doyle Motel
Miles today: 0.0

You have to love the Doyle!   How much better could you get.   Yuengling on draft for $2.10 22oz, hot showers, laundry and a good bed.   Yup I just love stopping here!   We are finally starting to move the miles.   Well we still aren't doing a high mileage days.   It's hard to get out of a sleeping bag in these cold temps and the short days make for short mileage. It's actually starting to look like I might not make it home for christmas.   Mother is going to be pissed.   oops sorry I mean really angry. I guess I'll have to break the news sorry or later. I need to make this a short entry.   I have to get back to my tall yuengling for breakfast.   Ah the breakfast of hikers!
Date: 2004-01-28
To: Exposed
Miles today: 0.0

All was fine until I began declaring my intention to thru-hike the AT this year, start in Georgia in March and keep going to Maine, five months maybe. I was part of a community, belonging, attached - like an apple on the tree. Now the apple has ripened and suddenly fallen. It's down there on the ground - exposed, alone, unprotected. Ever had that dream of finding yourself naked on the street in broad daylight and crowds of people around? That's how it feels. All was fine as long as I prefaced my plan with "someday..."; now I feel like an oddity, something not quite right, defect in the genes maybe.Whether the response is encouragement or doubt, I feel like one apart. Cut from the herd. Lost. Do you really want to spend that long in the woods? Walk 2,000+ miles? Take that much time off from work and family? Isn't that subversive? Are you sure it's legal? Are you coming back? Well, good luck to you.Nobody actually says that. They just get quiet and look at you a little differently, inspecting, taken aback. The only comfort is knowing that there are others who share my obsession, are ready to throw caution to the wind and follow the AT wherever it leads.And the doubts begin. What if I fail? Can I really do it? That's an awfully long way to walk. And you know how steep it is. Will you be the same? Are you irresponsible? A child? Nothing good can come of it I tell you.
Date: 2004-02-01
To: Approaching Mt. Springer
Miles today: 0.0

I have been thinking about whether or not to hike the approach trail to Mt. Springer. Some say it is just a blue blaze trail and not worth the effort. Others say it should be hiked because it is traditional. I don't know much about tradition. I have another reason to climb the approach trail. I have traveled to the Mt. Springer parking lot 3 or 4 times, always by car, to start a day or section hike. This year I will begin a thru-hike and I have a very different feeling.   This will be a real challenge for me and I feel that I should approach Mt. Springer with the same respect that a sherpa shows by putting up prayer flags before summiting. Being dropped off in the parking lot amidst groups of hikers with friends and family waiting to say goodby just seems too public and too easy and doesn't feel right. Climbing the approach trail shows respect for the mountain and the journey, and it provides some solitude to get in touch with yourself. And the effort of climbing the approach trail starts the journey with an exhilarating sense of accomplishment. But that is just me. It's important to remember that it is your hike, not anybody elses.
Date: 2004-02-08
To: Gear - arrrrrrgggghhhh!!!
Miles today: 0.0

I have been lost in gear purgatory for days and am finally emerging. I looked at every lightweight tent and tarp out there and decided to stay with my 5-year-old, single-window Nomad lite. I was worried about condensation on my down bag and was seeking an alternative that would provide better ventilation but still be 2 lbs. or less. I may try a vapor barrier liner in my bag to cut down on water going into it. I am not willing to tarp because I don't like sleeping with bugs and critters. I am not a hammock sleeper. I did find a tent that looks ideal (Six Moon Designs Europa II), as it is 2 lbs., more spacious and has abundant ventilation, but I decided that I would give my Nomad lite a shot before spending $250 on another tent. I am also staying with my 5-year-old, 20-degree Mountain Hardware Crazy Legs goosedown sleeping bag, a little heavy at 2 lbs. 10 oz. but very comfortable. My new pack looks great so far, a Mountainsmith Auspex. Details are on my gear page. My pack filled with gear, clothing, etc. and including 6 lbs. of water and 5 lbs. of food weighs 32 lbs. I think I can get it down to 30 lbs. when I finish adding, subtracting and fine tuning. All I think about is getting out on the trail. I know it will be tough and hope I am up to it. I like Warren Doyle's comment on Lynne Whelden's "How to Hike the AT" video: You have to flow with whatever the AT gives you. You can't control the trail, it controls you. If you can't accept that and expand your comfort zone, you won't make it."The best part of going off a cliff is the jump" - Me.
Date: 2004-02-22
To: Training
Miles today: 0.0

Now that my pack is all packed, there has been nothing more to do than get out and walk with it. So I started walking the neighborhood streets, then took it out to a 5-1/2 mile forest trail I used to run, and finally climbed with it up & down the University football stadium steps. Results: Sore calves... and I have become really confident about my ability to treat blisters and black toes!! As far as what shoes I will wear?? .. that's completely up in the air. I may have to go back to my trusty old New Balance 803's. I have tried two pairs of boots and two types of inserts. I think the boots were better without the inserts: they make the toe box a little too constricting. One pair of boots is four years old, so they are well broken in and have never given me blisters before now. But I went back to the original insoles today and still developed new blisters!! Go figure. I am painting the vulnerable areas (heels and toes) with New Skin, but am seriously considering hiking barefoot to toughen my feet. Whatever it takes!!I haven't done any food planning, just stuffed 10 lbs. of leftover Lipton's, etc. into my pack to fill it up. When I read what people are eating on the trail, I figure food is not too hard to find out there.I did get my taxes filed, always an unpleasant marathon event for me. And work assignments are gradually dwindling down to a small pile of reports and appointments. The woods were full of light today and fresh with smells of spring. Buttery butterflies floated by. Last week at dusk a thundering herd of 20 black wild piglets (knee-high) and their mother ran across the trail in front of me!! I've never seen so many!! Three small groups of deer ran by the same evening. Only part of me is here in Florida. One more month...
Date: 2004-03-22
To: Balancing on the brink.
Miles today: 0.0

My wife, Donna, and I drove to Amicalola yesterday to check into the Lodge. We were greeted by a chilly wind and a forecast for low 20's on Tuesday night, but Spring flowers were bursting out on trees and the sky was clear and bright blue. We climbed down the 425 steps to the Falls, took some photos, and met another trailjournal writer, Andy Hough, back on top. Andy had just hiked the 1st mile of the Approach Trail and remarked how different that was than his practice hikes in Austin. I'm glad I am starting tomorrow. Here it all becomes much more real and the audaciousness of a thruhike is apparent. Sort of like the mouse offering to pull the thorn from the elephant's foot. The odds are against a successful outcome for the mouse. So I have a day to savor the silliness of it all. I conclude that it is only because we have within us a ready facility for denial that we are able to accomplish anything. We happily get married, have babies, start school and careers, go off to war !and put a hundred other balls into motion with no idea how it will end. Thank God for denial.