morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2004-09-05
From: Camp Pine

To: Sidney Tappan Campsite
Miles today: 7.8
Weather: overcast clouds

i woke to the early morning light. the air was cool, about 50*, and i was feeling a little cold in my sleeping bag. condensation was all over the top wall of my tent. this time of year it's hard to keep a single-wall tent dry. i have to choose ventilation or warmth: more ventilation reduces the condensation, but also holds less heat in. if i close the doors, i'll retain more of my body heat within the tent, but end up swimming the next morning.this morning "ma pine" fixed the hikers blueberry pancakes, sausage, coffee, and juice. flora took over the skillet after eating to help ma pine in the kitchen. the eight hikers at the pine's hosted were fed and ready to go by 8:00. we stuffed ourselves and gear into the back of a pickup truck and braved hypothermia as we were driven back to the trail.our chilly day started with a ford of the pleasant river. the air temperature didn't bother anyone and neither did the cold, knee-deep water. it was the bugs! it's 50*, and those flying blood suckers were swarming all over us. do the mosquitoes in maine have winter jackets or something? ahhh, i love the smell of DEET in the morning. with that problem solved and our shoes back on (we ford in our camp shoes... waldies, chacos, etc.), we debated doing the gulf hagas trail. some have said to me not to miss this, but today i was not feeling like doing it; i just wanted to get up and over this last set of hills. flora and fauna wanted to do it though. from kansas, they might not have another chance to do this section. ah, what the heck. i told wildcat i'd take pictures anyway, since he went through this section in the rain. so, we hung our food, hid our packs, and joined the throngs of day hikers in the area.gulf hagas has been called the "grand canyon of the east". it is a 500 ft. gorge with waterfalls. honestly, it wasn't awesome enough to justify the 5.2 miles that don't get me closer to katahdin. i've seen better on the AT. at the time i'm writing this i did not ask fauna or flora what they thought of it or if taking the time and miles was worth it.time is what we were running out of today. we wanted to get over whitecap mtn, but that was not going to happen. we changed our plans to stop at a campsite once we got over gulf hagas mtn. i don't know what this does to the rest of the plan. hopefully we won't need to do a 20 to make up for today's low mileage. (we did 13 today but only 7.8 counts)on the way down gulf hagus, there was a rock with a "K" and an arrow on it. this pointed to our first view of katahdin. it was wonderful. there she was and i'll be climbing her in a few days.our campsite was also the base camp for six trail maintainers. they are putting in stairs north of here. i was amazed at the amount of gear they brought up here - none of it lightweight. the temperature is falling and i am going to get in bed before i burn too many calories keeping warm while typing.
Date: 2004-09-11
From: Katahdin Stream (Millinocket)

To: Mt. Katahdin
Miles today: 5.2
Weather: clear sky

"And the end of all our exploring will be to arrive where we started and know the place for the first time."-T.S. EliotI finished my appalachian trail thru hike today at 10AM. The weather was best described by a local hiker: "the best day we've had all summer". I'd say 30 thru hikers summited today. it was awesome to have all those hikers on the peak at the same time. the excitement pulsed through the air like electricity as the next thru hiker was spotted coming off the table land. as they approached, the cheering and clapping began. it was so fun sharing in everyone's summit experience and taking pictures at the sign.right now i'm just savoring the experience. i don't feel like the journey has ended, but another chapter, a very important chapter, has been finished. i look forward to tomorrow with much anticipation and magic.
Date: 2004-09-12
To: Newport , RI
Miles today: 0.0

I was the only hiker to stay at the AT Lodge last night. Seems lonely compared to the numbers there on the 10th. I rose about 6am and walked down the street for breakfast at the diner. I got french toast and held off on the bagel with cream cheese to see if my body wanted it or not. My body has been accepting less and less food in the past few days.... i think it was aware that the end was near.My dad arrived just before 9am and we stopped by rite-aid for a few things. well, i stopped by rite-aid for a few things: cheetos, gatorade, and a magazine on laptops, since i'm interested in buying one, pronto. our trip to RI seemed endless - over six hours. I noticed the flatness of the land and the sun being on the wrong side (driving southbound) of myself. my room was chocked full of my stuff - things from my apartment and gobs of backpacking gear. it seemed to have multiplied since i've been gone. i could barely move within its walls. sorting through the boxes and the pile of mail was overwhelming and i decided to put that off for a while. i'm not used to having so much stuff. 3,500 cu. in. is about what i've been carrying for the past six months. now i know why other thru hikers want to "purge" as soon as they get back from the trail.i did find my cell phone. the charger is in CT, but i went through my truck and found the car-charger. so, i'll have a working phone tomorrow. (I'll put my phone numbers on the about page)i looked around for shoes, but didn't see any. i remember bringing my sandals here to RI, but i guess it will be Waldies for now. gotta dig through those boxes sometime.so, anyway, my first day back was a gentle one. i have some work ahead of me sorting and organizing the things i have at home and then i'll be off to CT.P.S. In the future, I'll be doing some post-hike reentry entries, fix up the gear section to actually match what i carried on the trail, and post some gear reviews.
Date: 2004-09-19
To: Deja's farewell party
Miles today: 0.0

summit day + 8.my days have been spent sifting though my 10x10 storage space, talking with friends from work, enriching my life with technology (pager, cell phone, laptop, PDA, etc.) and getting acclimated with the fire department i volunteer for. there is much to say about re-entry, but today's journal is going to be about reconnecting with a hiker i haven't seen in months... Deja Vu.I read on Deja's trailjournals site she would be going to Cameroon very soon. i emailed her and found out her parents were having an "off to Africa cookout" for her. so, off to Massachusetts i went.at Deja's parents house i first met her grandfather outside. he introduced himself and i stumbled and stammered trying to get out the right name. is it dharma or pete? what's my identity today? i gave him both names and said I¢d probably stick to the trail name while i was there. inside the house i met her father, steve, and mother, nancy. nancy knew me by sight and called me dharma right away. i found out later she read my journal way back when i was hiking with Deja. (it also helps that our names are right next to each other in the journal listings.) i couldn't get over how young her parent's looked. ya gotta be to deal with a daughter who first hikes the AT for six months and then a month later prepares to go to Africa for two years with the peace corps."there she is", nancy said. i turned and received a great bear hug from Deja. wonderful are the people you meet on the trail. i only hiked around Deja for two weeks but we kept in touch with each other through the guestbooks on our TJ websites. fast does intimacy grow on the trail. maybe only trail folks experience this or experience this more than others... we are also linked by our mutual friends: moonpie, haiku, hook, wildcat, and mello.we talked and looked at pictures on my laptop. the pictures in the Smokeys seemed so long ago. wow, was that us?...i don't remember their being that much snow...many friend's and family were gathered for the feast of hamburgers, hotdogs, salad, chicken cacciatore, cake, and yummy apple pie.that evening Deja, friends, and i purposely watched a dumb movie while eating popcorn and beer. we all sort of piled on the floor with pillows, blankets and sleeping bags. what was interesting is how many of her friends actually had sleeping bags in their cars. i had mine (yes, washed. oooh, imagine the post-trail stink...) and added it to the pile. after the movie a few of us decided to stay the night and grabbed a piece of carpet to sleep on.in the morning we had breakfast, traded contact info, and wished our fearless traveler well on her upcoming adventure. we will all miss seeing her. Take care, Deja!
Date: 2004-10-07
To: Reentry / visting Swiss
Miles today: 0.0

i'm getting to the point where i'm moving too fast to live. my day feels like it doesn't have enough space in it for the things i want to accomplish, and i don't even work right now. this is exactly how i felt when i was working!!! and it is something i feel: in my throat, in my head, a stressed feeling... not enough time or maybe not enough space. so, having a job has nothing to do with that stressed feeling. (interesting) jobs are continually scapegoated for this along with children, soccer practice, and the one million and one committees people join within their local interest groups.how have i changed in the last 3.5 weeks? that carefree feeling is dwindling and so is the feeling of freedom. the days are starting to fly by. in contrast, some days on the trail seemed like they'd never end. my list of things to do is getting quite long whereas on the trail there were just a few things on my scrap of paper before entering town. i'm definately taking on more stuff since leaving the trail and it is a lot of things the mind has to be a part of. is thinking stressing me out? or is the thinking fine and what i'm thinking of stressing me out? here in the front country, my thoughs have been slowly shifting to the future, pulling me out of the moment. yeah, that can cause stress:where will i live?where will i work?do i even want to work?should i live at home for a while?hang out with shamans in south america?work part time at my old job?all these questions running through my psyche... asking, "what will the future bring?" that is part of what's stressing me. i think the other part is relaxation. i'm giving myself less and less down-time (probably because my to-do list is so long!) and i'm feeling it physically. today i went to the park next to the firehouse. a nap in the warm sunshine felt wonderful, but didn't fully refresh me. if i waited to get done with my list of things before relaxing, i'd never relax. such is the lives of a lot of people i know. i, personally, want to buck that trend.in the begining of this entry i said i was moving too fast. i found a old tape in my truck recently of someone speaking about how to live life with more joy. the best advice on that tape was "breathe and go slow". breathing consciously so i cannot talk to my thoughts and making a point not to rush through my day. seems like the advice i gave myself on the trail. :-/ how quicky i dove into my old habits.in other, joyous news, i visited swiss miss at her college. it was homecoming weekend on her campus and i got to meet her roomates and some of their parents. i spent the night sleeping in her friend's dorm room getting nuzzled by an 8 week old kitten. with the exception of a speeding ticket (didn't i say i was moving too fast? ), it was a smashing good time.
Date: 2004-10-27
To: Lee, Massachusetts
Miles today: 0.0

I started the day not knowing exactly what I was going to do with myself. I cautioned myself to just let it unfold and see what the moment brings. The only plans I had for the day was to go to a movie with a friend after dinner. My morning routine is about the same everyday: collect my things from where ever I am staying and go to the firehouse. The firehouse has phones and high speed internet, so it is my communication center of sorts (and also sometimes where I sleep). I used to work during the day and never got to hang out at the firehouse any other time than the evening. It¢s a volunteer department, so it is very quiet during the day as compared to most nights. While I¢m doing my email or figuring out what health insurance plan to get, I¢m jumping up to get the phone quite regularly. I¢m turning into the department switchboard. One thing I¢ve noticed is truckers and cable installers know where to call if they can¢t find a street. They haven¢t stumped me yet.The phone rings, it¢s my friend. She had just looked at the movie listings as I had this morning. We both agree there¢s nothing good to see. I did see that ¢Ray¢ is playing on Friday. That looks like a good flick, so we rescheduled to Friday. I hit trail journals and read down the right column looking for hikers I know. Stumpknocker updated again! He and Hippy will be in Lee MA today after 3:30. I put a message in his guestbook saying I¢ll try to see him in CT.   Right after I sent it, I though, my night is now free, why don¢t I go today? (see what I said about letting the day unfold? Works like magic.)I fired up the big red truck and got to Lee around 4PM. I could see Hippie¢s truck on the side of the road and I parked right behind her. They weren¢t there yet (and no guarantee they would be, except they were waiting for Rainy Jay to come by today or tomorrow), so I got my shoes on and went north for about a half mile just to soak in the fall beauty of the trail. Wonderful! Man, I love being out here.I got back to my truck and sat on the tailgate, typing this journal entry on my laptop. At about 5PM Stumpknocker and Hippie arrive in his truck. They were very surprised to see me. We talked for a little while then moved the trucks to the trailhead in Great Barrington. I decided to stay the night with them so we could talk more and catch up on our trail talk.Stumpknocker put on his engineer¢s hat and leveled both trucks by digging holes or placing rocks under the tires. It definitely made a difference since the trailhead mostly an incline. While I ate dinner and downed a beer, Hippie showed me her photo albums of the first part of her AT hike and her trip to California. We stayed up ¢til, oh, the late hour of 8PM and then retreated to our pickup truck homes for the evening. The air was getting frosty and the moons glow was casting shadows on the ground. Tonight was the night of a full lunar eclipse, but I doubt any of us would stir at 10:15 to see the reddish moon in the sky.
Date: 2004-10-28
To: Great Barrington, MA
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: clear sky

Stumpknocker woke me at about 7AM. There was ice covering everything. I was toasty in my WM Versalite and quickly rolled up my make shift bedroom and got my cold cold jeans on. (synthetics rule in cold weather!)We went out to a diner in Great Barrington and had a yummy breakfast. I talked more with Hippie while Stumpknocker uploaded his latest journals via Pocketmail. Being in the company of hikers, I flipped back into my old diet and got three thick pieces of French toast. ("When in Rome¢¦ " ) I could barely finish them, but the feeling of being truly full brought back memories of eating mass quantities on the trail. I tried to give Stumpknocker and Hippie some trail magic by picking up the tab, but Stumpknocker would have none of that. He said I was the trail magic and seeing me again was such a nice surprise that he wanted to pick up the bill. So he paid for Hippie and I. Thanks Stumpknocker!After breakfast we said goodbye and I went back to Connecticut to visit my friend Wally (he was the friend who loaded my pictures on TJ while I was hiking). He had the day off, so we went out to lunch in West Hartford where I received magic for the second time today. He picked up the tab for lunch!I have to plan a trip into the woods soon. That 12 mile I walked yesterday and sleeping overnight (granted in the back of my pickup) felt great and really refreshed me.
Date: 2005-09-05
To: Hurricane Katrina relief - into the the unknown
Miles today: 0.0

I will be part of the 1000 two-person teams to assist the people affected by Hurricane Katrina in Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama. I am leaving Wednesday morning (9/7) and will be gone for an unknown amount of time, to an unknown place, and to do who knows what.For those that do not know, I am a volunteer firefighter in Ellington, CT. FEMA asked the country's firefighters to create two-person teams to go to the disaster area. My job/home situation allows for some flexibility, I have the proper fire service training, and the living conditions for relief team members will be much like what I had on the Appalachian Trail -- except all the water is toxic. So, I volunteered to go with my friend and fellow firefighter, Karl Neubecker.I will try to update this journal when/if I find internet service down there. Please email or guestbook me. Later!
Date: 2005-09-13
To: Got backup?
Miles today: 0.0

Day 7 - I'm still here in Atlanta. Karl and I have been filling our time with checking out Atlanta and locating ultimate frisbee pick-up games. The frisbee games are good because it keeps us moving and is a way to channel our energies.Other FFs have been channeling their energies in less productive ways - i.e. the bar... and over doing it a bit. That's what happens when you get a bunch of FFs together and give them nothing to do.The word on the street is some people are going to LA today or to the Outer Banks. We were pretty psyched to hear this this morning until we found out that they "lost some data" on the laptop that the teams were on. (what? no one thought to back that data up?) So the team leaders had to check in this morning to get us all back on the Excel spreadsheet. Now I am wondering if they also lost where the other 1500 FFs are deployed around the country. This is just a symptom of a bigger problem. Everyday at the 10:00 meeting they give us the number for the previous day's deployments. Yesterday they said they did not deploy anyone, but today they said they deployed 130 yesterday. They also changed the number from two days ago from ~250 to ~800 deployments. That's a big jump and it also tells me they have lost track of their resources. Why they don't let us run this is beyond me. I'm glad a former firefighter was made head of FEMA yesterday. That's the exact experience and attitude you need up there. Now they need some organizing skills here in Atlanta.I'll update later if we get the green light. (fingers crossed)
Date: 2005-09-13
To: Our First Assignment
Miles today: 0.0

Be it known on Day 7 at 1600 hrs we received our first FEMA assignment...My team, along with 100 others, is going to Orlando to recieve 8 hours of "Individual Assistance" (IA) training and then we will be deployed to the disaster zone. At least that's what we think will happen.IA sounds like we will be deployed to individual homes and observe damage, give assistance, and fill in reports for FEMA. That sounds fine.I ask myself why couldn't FEMA have the training up here? That might be a bug they should work out.We will be driving to Orlando tomorrow, training on Thusday, and be deployed somewhere on Friday. I'm glad we're finally doing something and it sounds like we will get to interact with the affected people, which is what many of us wanted to do.
Date: 2005-09-15
To: Orlando
Miles today: 0.0

Six of our eight-person team got up at 6AM to get to Orlando with daylight to spare to hit a water park. I was not thrilled with getting up early, but now am glad I hung out with the team at Blizzard Beach in the afternoon. A very fun time.Upon arriving in Orlando we checked in at the FEMA training center and found out that, no, we will not be training for one day, but a day and a half. Soooo our deployment day to wherever will be Saturday. We all have our fingers crossed.
Date: 2005-09-16
To: going to Biloxi, Miss.
Miles today: 0.0

Today was a huge day and I'll have to expand on what went on today at a later date. In a nutshell: yesterday we were told we were going to one of the affected states. Today during class we were told we were going to be answering phones in two locations in the US, not working with people directly.If you know firefighters -- not cool. there was a big fight today between the two forces, fire and FEMA. The 80 firefighters in the room pretty much said we're going home if you want us to answer phones. FEMA officials went back into there conference rooms and came out with what we wanted -- an assignment in the affected areas. Cool. We have no idea what we'll be doing when we get there, but we'll be contributing in the way we want to contribute.I don't know if I'll be able to update with any frequency past today. The best way to reach me will be by cell phone.We leave tomorrow at 6AM. Thanks for reading!
Date: 2005-09-20
To: Providing relief in Moss Point, Mississippi
Miles today: 0.0

I have much to write, but computer time is very scarce where I am now based in Gautier, Miss. (That's "go-shay" for you northerers) For the past two days we've been visiting disaster victims, working in the Moss Point DRC (Disaster Relief Center), helping organize distribution centers, and delivering water and ice to residents of the area.This is the rewarding work we've been wanting since day one. Today we stopped by homes and made sure everyone knew about the Moss Point DRC and the benifits they could receive through FEMA and other agencies. Mold is becoming a problem in these homes and we passed out booklets that explained the health concerns of mold and how to clean it up.Every house and disaster victim has a story. Today I spent most of my morning listening to the victim's tell their story. They need to express what happend to them. That's part of our job - to listen. There were people who have lived here all their lives and didn't want to move away, though everything points in that direction. I spoke with a woman who saw the storm surge coming, and while running for higher ground, got caught in the surge. She clung to a tree and was rescued by neighbors who jump in the water to save her.I have added a few pictures to the photos section and will update the day's events more fully when I can. For now, I am safe (I haven't run into any of the 200 14' alligators that escaped), fed like a thru hiker, and happy I am doing what I'm doing.Hurricane Rita will determine where I go next. There is talk of moving this operation to Alabama until the hurricane hits. So, I may be traveling Wednesday or Thursday to a new location.
Date: 2005-10-02
To: Poplarville, MS
Miles today: 0.0

Just an update... I've been in Poplarville, MS at "Camp Lusk" for the past few days. We are sleeping in a tent city with air-conditioning. Before you call me a total sissy, it's great stuff since daytime is like 98* and it only cools down to the 70's-80's at night. My group has been keeping busy doing trailer pre-inspections. We have been driving around some very remote places (oh, the scratches on my rental car!)and preparing residents to get their travel trailers.Everyone we meet is really nice to us and knowing that we are making a difference in people's lives really gives us a feeling of accomplishment. Today Karl and I played a 4-on-4 game of ultimate frisbee after we got done with our work for the day. Did I say it was hot down here??? I'll be back in CT on Wednesday and off to the Gathering on Friday. I will update my journal with my photos and experiences after that. There is a possibility of me coming back to the gulf coast in a few weeks, that will be a tough decision for me.