morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2005-06-29
From: MA 41; Great Barrington, Mass.

To: MA 41; Great Barrington, Mass.
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: light rain

We ended up taking another zero today. It had just been too long without one and we were getting burned out. The rest really did us good. It ended up being a good call as it rained for a better portion of the day. We took the bus downtown today and saw "War of the Worlds", which wasn't as good as we had hoped. The day went by way too fast. Zero days always do.
Date: 2005-06-30
From: MA 41; Great Barrington, Mass.

To: Mt. Wilcox North Lean-to
Miles today: 17.1

Our wake up call was set for seven, and it came way too early. I woke up tired; I don't know why, we have hardely done anything for the last two and a half days! I showered. I have no idea why, seeing as that once we are hiking again, I will be sweaty and nasty again within ten minutes. The hotel owner drove us back to the trail, he was a very nice guy. At the road, we got on the trail, walked across a field, into the woods and a massacre. The mosquitos started to attack. They were absolutely horrible. There was no escape; there were swarms of them. I could swat my arm and kill three with one blow. The yellow flies were merciless also, I kept pulling them out of my hair. I think Stick and I practically ran those first 5 miles, doing it in under an hour and a half. By the time they eased up a bit, my hands ran red with blood. (Not sure if it was mine or the bug's; probably a mixture of both.) Although they were just really bad that first section, they were a nuisance all day, making the climbs miserable. You want to stop and rest because it is a hard climb, but if you do, you are eaten alive by the bugs. It's a catch 22. Needless to say, we made awesome time all day. We stopped for lunch at Tom Leonard Lean-to, but were driven on just as we finished eating. Not too much longer after that, we met Mud/Muddy Eye. He pulled two Pepsis from his day pack for us and my jaw practically hit the ground. Sure made my day. I took a nasty fall today. Just as we were coming up on Mud/Muddy Eye, I slipped on some roots that were wet. Both my feet caught on the roots and my knees buckled as I fell. It was extremely painful. I had to sit there for a bit before I could continue on. But I enjoyed the pepsi and conversation with M.E. as I regained my composure. Late in the day, we came up on a road. There was a guy who had just pulled up and asked us if we wanted a lift to town. We asked him if it was a hard hitch back, and he replied that we need not worry, he'd wait for us while we ate. Against our better judgement, we thankfully declined his offer, as we just spend two and a half days in town. Not fifteen seconds after he pulls off, it starts to pour. I AM NOT EXAGGERATING!!! A MERE FIFTEEN SECONDS!!! That wins the all-time bad-call award for the entire trip. It even beats out the time we hitched to Troutdale for a pop and had to walk all the way back from town.Within 60 seconds, we were drenched. If there is anything opposite of trail magic, this has to be it. Trail Voodoo maybe. At least the bugs stopped bothering us. Luckily, the downpour lasted maybe all of 10 minutes. The bugs came back. I think I'll take the rain over the bugs personally. Made it to South Mt. Wilcox Lean-to, but the spring was dry, so we walked another 2 miles to North Mt. Wilcox Lean-to. Here tonight with us is a couple from Gainesville, Florida out for the week. The stream is nice and cold. The bugs are out in full force, but there is plenty of room to set up the tent in the shelter.
Date: 2005-07-01
From: Mt. Wilcox North Lean-to

To: Upper Goose Pond Cabin
Miles today: 14.0
Weather: overcast clouds

I'm glad I was in my tent last night, because the bugs were out with a vengence. The terrain was basically flat for the first three miles or so, so we just flew along. At the road, we decided to walk into Tyringham, since it's less than a mile off the trail. Not much here, besides the post office and a bed & breakfast where they sold pop for $1 a can. But it was hot and we were thirsty. Overall, it was a short day. We took an early day at Upper Goose Pond Cabin. Nancy was the caretaker for the week. She thru hiked a previous year and is very nice. The cabin has a canoe that we took out for a bit on the lake. Spent the afternoon resting, eating, playing chess, and reading.
Date: 2005-07-02
From: Upper Goose Pond Cabin

To: Dalton, Ma
Miles today: 20.6
Weather: overcast clouds

I couldn't believe how early I was up, around five. Packed up quietly and woke Stick up around six so we could get an early start. Nancy made pancakes for everybody, which was really nice. We couldn't have asked for better weather today, the morning was in the sixties and it was nice and breezy. We made the first climb up Becket Mountain fairly easy. After that, it was lots of little ups and downs, but since it was so comfortable, we made great time, and were at the sheler and had 10 miles done by eleven. At the road, we met Num-tum. She was taking some time with some friends who had a car, and she was doing trail magic. We each got a coke. There was a small sign at the road crossing that caught my eye. It was telling of a place to stay in Dalton and get a shower and laundry. Lots more Puds for the rest of the day. We had excellent views from Warner Mountain, and we could see all the way to Mt. Greylock, 20 miles to the north. The final miles into town really took their toll on us. It had gotten really hot and we were hurting, but we were determined to make it to Dalton. In Dalton, we met Rob, the guy that was letting hikers stay at his place. It is called the "bird cage". It is a wonderful place and Rob is an outstanding guy. He realy takes you into his home and takes care of you. Tonight I am sleeping in a bed nicknamed "The Cloud" by a previous hiker. It could very well be the softest bed I have ever slept in.
Date: 2005-07-03
From: MT. Greylock

To: Dalton, Ma
Miles today: 17.0
Weather: clear sky

We decided to slackpack today. Rob was kind enough to give us a ride to the top of Greylock and we were going to walk back to his place. On the way up Rob gave us a triva question to ponder while we walked:Name the 8 major league teams whose name doesn't end with a "S".This is the first time that we have been over 3000 feet since the Shenendoahs. The views were awesome. We could see all the way back to Mt. Everritt and all the way north to Stratton Mtn. in Vermont. It feels like I'm back in Georgia and North Carolina with the real mountains. We spent half an hour on the summit taking pictures and enjoying the view before heading back to Dalton.We met tons of day hikers out for the day since it is the weekend and the weather is spectacular. We took a long break at Mark Noepal Lean-to, where we ran into Frenchie & El Jefe. For some reason, probably since the weather was so nice, we had trouble getting it into gear. Since most of the day was downhill, my knee was giving me a lot of trouble. There were a few points that I had to stop it was hurting so bad. It really has me worried. It ended up taking about four miles to make it to Cheshire, only a seven mile hike. After taking a break in front of the post office, we hightailed it out of there and really kicked it into overdrive to get back to Rob's. There are a lot of hikers staying at his place tonight. The answer to his triva question is as follows:Miami Heat (NBA)Boston Red Sox (MLB)Chicago White Sox (MLB)Tampa Bay Lightning (NHL)Orlando Magic (NBA)Minnesota Wild (NHL)Colorado Avalanche (NHL)Utah Jazz (NBA)
Date: 2005-07-04
From: Mt. Greylock

To: Sherman Brook Campsite
Miles today: 7.9
Weather: clear sky

Although I was sleeping on "The Cloud" again, I did not sleep well at all. I was up several times during the night due to my knee pain. It actually woke me up it was hurting so bad. I was thinking about taking a zero to rest, but I fell back asleep and in the morning it was fine. I don't know if I was half dreaming it or not, but decided not to zero. We all got packed up and Rob took us by Mickey D's on the way back to the trail. We thanked Rob and were on our way. Rob is truely one of the greatest people that I have met on my journey so far. It is people like him that make the trail what it is. Thanks so much Rob.Right away, the trail was all down and my knee started bothering me at once. It isn't a sharp pain, just kind of a dull, roaring pain. I was dragging behind Stick pretty much the whole way down to the road. Although I was slowed considerably, we still made the six miles down to the road in under 3 hours. We decided to walk the half mile to Friendly's, where I proceeded to tear up some grub. Some guy came up and started talking nonstop about all his gear that he has. It was very annoying, as we were just trying to enjoy our meal and relax.Afterwards, we went sit in the shade outside of the grocery store. Stick called his friend Silky, while I fell asleep. We didn't feel much like walking, so we bought a paper and hung out in front of the store for a few hours. The next thing we knew, it was past five! Back at the trail, there was some trail magic; liters of gatorade. We made the mile trek up to the campsite, which is very nice. It was wooden tent platforms and a spring that is one of the nicest I've seen on the trail. It had a sandy bottom and I could see the water coming right up. Very nice.
Date: 2005-07-05
From: Sherman Brook Campsite

To: VT 9; Bennington, Vt
Miles today: 16.8
Weather: few clouds

It ended up being a hot day. It was a long two miles to the Vermont border. There, we met a section hiker, who took our picture. Today was very painful. My knee was killing me. I was dragging behind Stick all day. It rained for a better part of the afternoon. At the last shelter before town, I told Stick that I was going to town to the doctor. The last downhill before the road was torture. It was rocky and straight down. We didn't have much trouble getting a ride and the guy took us right to the hotel. We decided to go eat before going to the hospital. We went to Subway. While I was standing in line, I could barely stand up it was hurting so bad. I really didn't want to go the hospital because I knew what the doctor was going to say. After a long wait and a few x-rays, the doctor told me that I had torn my ACL. That means this is the end for me. I am pretty much devistated. I called my folks, and they said they are going to come and pick me up. So I have a few days to kill. I called Rob, and he is going to come and pick me up and let me stay at his place for a few days while my folks drive up. It was a quiet evening. It is very surreal. It doesn't feel like I am going to be going home. I think back over the last 127 days and it is very hard to think back to when I wasn't hiking. It has really become a way of life. And I am going to miss it dreadfully.
Date: 2005-07-06
To: View Entry
Miles today: 0.0

Well, Stick decided to take a zero today and we hung out. I went down to the pharmacy to get some prescriptions filled. Aside from the second half of the Smokies and then most of the Shenendoahs, I have walked with Stick since Hiawassee. I am going to miss all of the good times (and not so good times) that we have had over the past 1,600 miles. I still cannot believe that I am going home. Tomorrow Stick is going back to the trail to continue on and I will be going home. Such is the trail.
Date: 2005-07-13
To: Home
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: moderate rain

Well, I am sitting back here at home. Rob really helped me out, letting me stay with him for a couple of nights. It was so great to see my family. My brother really has grown a ton. We ate at a pizza hut that night, and I impressed them with my enourmous appetite! It was a two and a half day drive back to Florida. It really never sunk in how far I had actually walked until it took us that long to drive an equivalent distance. I just got up everyday for 127 days and walked 15 or 20 miles; it's just what I did. The transition back into the real world wasn't bad at all. I am really enjoying sleeping in my own bed! I have had a chance to visit with a lot of my friends and tell them of all of my adventures. The newspaper even wants to do a story on me. It is great to see everybody, but it would have been better if it would have been in another month or so.Remember that torn ACL I told you about? Well, I went to my friend who is also a doctor and he confirmed that it is nothing more than tramatic patellar tendonitis. In other words, a bruised kneecap. I was pretty upset. He told me that it was the right choice though; it could have gotten a lot worse had I continued on. I know if that doctor had told me it was a bruised kneecap, I would have taken a day or two off and continued on. Maybe it was a good thing he told me that it was torn. To add insult to injury, I have come done with Lyme disease. I knew that I had been bitten by a few deer ticks back in New Jersey, so when I came down with the classic symptoms, I hightailed it to the doctor and it was an easy diagnosis. I was lucky, it wasn't a very severe case, and it wasn't nothing that some hardcore antibiotics couldn't take care of. I have been home almost a week and the way of life that I knew for over four months is already starting to fade into memories. But they are great memories. Even the memories of all of the hard times that I had. So many people have made this THE greatest experience in my life and I will never forget all of you. Thank you from the bottom of my heart:Stick, Humpty Dumpty, Gravity & Danger, Sci-Fi, Spoonie, Cat Toy & Rocky, Chuckles & Gotta-Go, Shadow & Sassy, Spirit and her entire family, Silky, Rob, Ms. Janet, Ron, Buckwheat and all of my family and friends that supported me along the way with emails, letters and phone calls, I couldn't have done it without any of you. These are just a few of all of you; there are just too many of you to list, but you all know who you are. Thank you so much.
Date: 2004-12-25
To: Counting Blessings!!
Miles today: 0.0

Merry Christmas to all, friends, family and fellow dreamers!Today is a great day to look back, as we are ending up one dream and beginning another, and count our blessings. We consider ourselves so blessed that we have accomplished our dream of living in Key West for a year. The experience has been everything that we dreamed it would be, and more. We've enjoyed good health, a great place to live, good jobs, met some great people and made lifelong friends.But the time has come to move on, on to another dream, to thru-hike the Appalachian Trail from Georgia to Maine, all 2,174 miles of it. We invite you to hike with us, to share our sunrises and sunsets, as you follow along in our journal.By way of overview, we plan on leaving our jobs at the end of next month, move our possessions to Tennessee and put them into storage, as we plan to relocate there after completion of the Trail. We will then spend a month in Pennsylvania visiting with family and day hiking the Appalachian Trail, in an effort to acclimate to the trail and try out new hiking gear. We will then go to North Carolina where we will spend the last two weeks finalizing our hike and meeting with the beloved Trail Journal Keeper, Malia. Kudos for Malia!! We really appreciate Malia for all the hard work that she will have to do, transcribing and entering our notes and pictures into this journal. And then, Lord willing and the creek don't rise; we will be on the Trail on the week of the 13th of March. On a personal note, Sheri, "Fancyfree", and I, are 47 and 52 years old respectively. I have had a dream of hiking the Appalachian Trail for almost 15 years and Fancyfree agreed to do it with me without a clue as to what a thru-hike of the Appalachian Trail entailed. Neither of us has spent a night camping on the Trail, or any other trail for that matter. So, this should prove interesting, you might want to follow along.Merry Christmas,Footloose
Date: 2004-12-27
To: More Than Half The Fun.....
Miles today: 0.0

There's the hiking the Trail part, and then there's the logistics of hiking the Trail part, which to us has been so much fun.It was extremely hard for us to find hiking equipment in Florida. So, when we had to evacuate for Hurricane Ivan, we headed to Atlanta, GA; or should I say REIville. Oh yeah, Babe! We went to Atlanta, drove straight through, rented a beautiful suite right down the road and around the corner from REI and spent two glorious days in gear heaven. We were like two kids in a candy store. We even loaded up backpacks with 40 pounds of sandbags and walked around the store trying out boots. At one point we took them off long enough for a clerk to assemble a tent so we could try it out. Talk about patience, the staff at REI were the greatest.Long story short, we purchased backpacks, boots, socks and a few other essentials and since ol' Ivan was still churning away on the South side of Cuba, we felt it was our duty to take a run up to the Trail and see if we could get some blisters. We drove up to Blood Mountain Cabins, right down the road from Walasi-Yi Center or Mountain Crossings, as they are calling themselves now. We took a cabin for two days. We're talking spring water running right out of the side of the mountain and a big stuffed beaver, whch we promptly named, "Bucky", perched over the fireplace, the real thing. If you ever get by there and are lucky enough to stay in the Beaver Cabin we highly recommend it and you can read our entries in their Guest Journal. There is a path that hooks up right outside the back of the cabin which leads up the mountain and comes out right below Walasi-Yi's parking lot and the Trail. Outfitted in new boots and armed with hiking poles, the then unnamed Footloose and Fancyfree, began an ascent up to the top of Blood Mountain on the Appalachian Trail. Needles to say, we learned a tremendous amount in that little bit of hands on experience. But we'll leave the rest of that little tale, to include the hike with "Patches", Walasi-Yi's owner's dog, for later on around the the ol' shelter or campfire or wherever. But, one thing's for sure, we've had a lot of fun already, just getting ready to hike the Trail. Footloose
Date: 2005-01-24
To: Two Diget Midgets
Miles today: 0.0

At this point, everything is about numb3rs: Exactly 50 days, till 0 day, or as we refer to it, "the day we start"; 6 weekend days to buy, sort-out, re-package and bag 3 months of breakfasts,lunches and dinners, totalling 75 breakfasts, 85 lunches and 71 dinners times 2, and race fans, that only covers us up till the halfway point, so, times 2 again; only 3 more days till we quit work, 2 if you don't count the actual last day of work; 5 days till we pick up the U-Haul; 1 day to pack; 2 days on the road; 1 day to unpack at the storage site and 1 day left over just in case of bad weather, then return the truck. Then.....well, you get the picture. Seriously, unless you've been through it, you just can't imagine what fun it is to plan out, purchase trail-compatible food, break it down and re-package it for mail drops. I know you know that I said that tounge in cheek, didn't you? If not, then you need to back up, take out, "fun" and inset, "a chore", and you'll have a clearer picture. Yeah, you're right; I'm starting to get giddy from all of this, right down to the last minute stuff, as the rest of the fellow thru hikers will attest to, at this point. But, we did get to put the tent up, a Mountain Hard Wear Air Jet, it covered our whole living room floor. And we also tried out the Thermarest sleeping pads and the REI sleeping bags and the headlamps. We tried them out for about 45 minutes and then bagged it and went to bed. Also, we've been walking out on the Bridle Path, enjoying the beautiful winter weather, breaking our boots in, watching the shrimp boats and the cruise ships come and go and all our crazy, zany neighbors and tourists, walk along the beach and on the Boulevard. Yeah, just 5 more days left in Key West....we're going to miss it. Footloose
Date: 2005-01-27
To: Fare-the-well!!
Miles today: 0.0

On the eve of the eve of our departure (we leave in two days), we've put away the gear and dispensed with the packing and just sat and talked and laughed and remembered and yeah, brushed away a tear or two. Good times. When we came to Key West, a mere 14 months ago, we didn't know anyone. Not a soul, nada. But tonight we reflected upon Dalia, Jamaica, Rosemary, Melisa, Abagail, Pam, Holly, Nina, Kim, Michelle, Jeff, Pablo, Don, Amber, Lupe, Sue, Jerry, Allen, Cynthia, Ruth, Karen and Tony; just to name a few. We know that time will cause us to fade in the memories of some. But to us, those we reflected upon weren't just aquaintenances or friends or co-workers, but people who were part of our dream, our dream to live in Key West. And, that in itself makes it a little easier to leave Key West, with it's great sunsets and beautiful weather and great people. Because we know that we'll meet the Dalias and the Pablos and the Cynthias of the Appalachian Trail and somehow that makes it easier. All along, and especially today, as we said our real good-byes, everyone has asked, "Why are you doing this, hiking the Appalachian Trail?" And so by way of an answer, we will leave you with these lines, which we think say it best, taken from "Song of the Open Road", by Walt Whitman:Afoot and lighthearted I take to the open road,Healthy, free, the world before me,The long brown path before me, leading wherever I choose.From this hour, freedom!From this hour I ordain myself loos'd of limits and imaginary lines,Going where I list, my own master, total and absolute,Listening to others, and considering well what they say,Pausing, searching, receiving, contemplating.Gently, but with undeniable will, divesting myself of thehold that would hold me.Footloose and Fancyfree
Date: 2005-03-13
From: Springer Mountain

To: Hawk Mountain Shelter
Miles today: 7.6
Weather: clear sky

Our first day....here at last...actually began te night before, as it seemed was befitting givin all the preparation. Malia and Jimmy gave us a going away cake and we finished revamping and labeling our drop boxes. We went to bed at 9:30 p.m., slept fitfully until 1:30 a.m., then drove for 5 1/2 hours to Amicalola Falls State Park in Georgia where we had a breakfast buffet in the beautiful lodge. We then went down to the registration point whrere we officially registered and had our picture taken. Our packs weighed in at 50 pounds and 38 pounds. We then were driven up to the trailhead and dropped off by Malia. We then hiked .9 tenths of a mile up to the start of the AT on Springer Mountain. We logged in the trail journal, picked up a rock to carry to Katandin where it is customary to leave it upon completion of the trek. We met several other thru hikers on the way up and down. We hiked 7.6 miles to Hawk Mountain Shelter where we pitched our tent and went to bed at 8:00 p.m. without even eating, we were so tired. And, as befitting the long day, it wasn't nearly over yet as the Army Rangers began a firefight and surrounded our area. After that a terrible sound like a coyote or a fox screaming pierced the air awakening everyone. No one knew for sure what it was. Then... a rain storm started which lasted for about 5 hours. The rain poured down in torrents, so much so that our tent became saturated and began to leak. At that point we got up and put our down sleeping bags in the waterproof bags and just huddled in the tent for 2 1/2 hours and finally got up at 6:30 a.m. to begin a new day. If our trip is anythig like the first day, it will be filled with excitement and adventure.