morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2006-10-11
To: In which I introduce myself to this community
Miles today: 0.0

I begin my thru some time in like¢¦ early March or something, of 2007. Don¢t have a trail name yet¢¦ which makes sense I guess because I¢m not on the trail. Don¢t think I want one. I mean, it¢s kind of ridiculous, going by this moniker for a few months and then never, ever using it again. Unless the AT isn¢t just a furlough for you, but a way of life. That probably means you¢re an unemployable, possibly overeducated, hiker bum with no marketable skills. In that case the name works, because you don¢t want people to know that [Insert real name here] doesn¢t have a real career and is thus resigned to forever walk a swath in a forest¢¦ sorta like Sisyphus, only a backpack replaces the giant boulder.Ever notice Earl Schaffer never had a trail name? I guess he didn¢t really need one when he first did it, but he thru-hiked several times! I could be wrong, of course¢ I¢m not professing to be an official historian on the guy. But all the material I¢ve read has never mentioned otherwise¢¦I suppose the silliness of the trail name is part of its appeal.I¢m probably just alienating myself from the entire thru-hiking community by spouting this rubbish. Shall we change the subject?When I¢m not cooking up god-awful vegetarian concoctions in my kitchen, mindlessly playing Starcraft or Age of Empires, or lamenting the banality of mankind, I tend to bike a lot. Oh, and occasionally work. Most of the money I have at the moment is being saved up for the AT, so I don¢t have a good bike. Currently using my brother¢s dodgy Mangusta that must have been built circa 1066. My debit card is still groaning after buying some of the equipment for my hike, as well as the necessary replacement 700c front tyre, tube, tyre levers and road bicycle pump adapter the other day. The bike isn¢t worth the money. It¢s tempting to just ditch the thing and buy myself a penny-farthing; the constant fear of falling four feet off the ground will give me good reason to cease any exercise, which includes hauling the damn thing up and down three narrow flights of stairs while three never-seen dogs bark at me behind three always-closed doors.The never-seen kind is the worst.Especially the never-seen kind that sounds like a scary mastiff ready to rip out my throat. Or at least chew my tyre. Or my trousers.I should just abandon this apartment. Who needs fossil-fuel consuming appliances and a hot shower and all those other pricey fetters when a backpack and rainwater work nearly as well?Anyway, I¢ve been purchasing some gear as of late, though my hike is still several months away. You may check my gear list if you feel so inclined, but I¢ve included only the barest of essentials.
Date: 2006-11-13
To: In which I rant about nothing in particular.
Miles today: 0.0

Okay. I have an announcement to make, not that anyone is actually reading this yet because I have only one other entry, but you WILL read it when I stop being so gawd damn lazy and begin updating this thing. Anyway. The announcement is. Yes. I have finally curtailed my Starcraft and Age of Empires playing considerably, and have actually been earning some Benjamins, cuz according to Ice Cube, dat¢s what it¢s all aboot. I know, I know. Who woulda thunk? Granted, I have to wear a dorky uniform and drive around in my car, and I hate driving (rather be hiking! or just walking. Or riding my bicycle. Or even standing. Anything but driving. Grr) but such is life at the moment, and I kinda need the cashbuckaroonies. Playing video games, while it's certainly fun and greatly improves my mouse-clicking proficiency (no carpal tunnel yet!), it doesn¢t earn me any money. And I¢m not good enough nor South Korean enough to play video games for massive sums of greenbacks on television.So let¢s see. I worked yester-day. I have off to-day. Yester-day sucked big time, mostly because my job sucks big time, and that¢s mostly because winter is coming, and I mostly don¢t entirely trust my tyres in the snow, and my town is mostly notorious like B.I.G. for mostly crummy weather. Mostly. Also, I burned myself pretty badly when a hot screen fell on my arm. Check it out. I would sue the company. But it¢s not life threatening, and it didn¢t hinder my ability to work in any way. All it did really was disfigure what I considered to be a rather handsome forearm. Nuts. To reward myself for my clumsiness, upon arriving home I cracked open the leftover crappy zinfandel from the night before. Wine and me are very similar; we¢re both best when drunk. (rimshot) Yeah, okay that was shamelessly stolen from one of my friends¢ birthday cards. Needless to say, I am now out of wine, so tonight I¢ll have to revert to the scotch. Huzzah!Roughly four months until you find me on Springer gasping for breath. That¢s still one third of a year away, with a hogshead of crappy holidays in between. Sheesh.
Date: 2007-02-04
To: In which I ponder gear
Miles today: 0.0

Well I've discovered something about myself these past few months in preparing for this hike: I'm a very ungearhead-ish hiker. That is, while I've done a ton of research in choosing what I think is the right gear for me, I've hated every second of it. Bidding on eBay, traveling 70 miles to the nearest outfitter... twice, to buy, and return stuff, assembling it all in my pack, testing to make sure it will work, LOSING some of the things I've bought (like, um... my sleeping bag, at the Reno airport)¢¦ ARRRRRRRGGGHHHH. I'm the anti-gearhead.I just want to hike, and not deal with any of this crap. I know dealing with gear comes hand-in-hand with hiking, but, well, whining about it makes me feel better right now. And at the risk of sounding offensive, how on earth do gearheads enjoy this? It's mind-numbing. Please, if you're a gearhead, and you see me on the trail, avoid talking to me about that-which-interests-you-most. I may do something potentially harmful, like wear cotton in a rainstorm or eat a poison ivy sandwich or chase down a bear cub with my pocketknife or something.Anything else will do. Just not gear. Scout's honor.I think I'm anti-materialistic to a fault. I've worn the some of the same t-shirts for eight years now. My mom calls it lazy. I call it thrifty.Even the Pepsi-can stove was annoying, because I had to go to the supermarket and buy a 12er of Pepsi, as we're one of those families that don't drink soda and consequently had none of the proper recyclables, and the supermarket didn't sell smaller quantities. Does soda even come in six packs anymore...or for that matter, did it ever? Maybe that¢s just beer. So much for being "free".I did kinda like assembling the thing and watching it flame up though. But I'm sure that will get old quick.
Date: 2007-03-13
From: Springer Mountain Shelter

To: Hawk Mountain Shelter
Miles today: 7.6
Weather: overcast clouds

An easy day in comparison, but no less interesting. Dad woke up before dawn and huffed it back down the Approach Trail to the parking lot, where he would then drive to Springer and meet me. I awoke around 8:30, packed all his stuff into his backpack, including his tent, had some coffee with Alex, the 20-year old hippie who's thru-hiking; his three buddies hiked him in the day before. Alex has a mumbling problem, compounded with the North Carolina accent. It's hard for me to make him out. He means well, though.Anyway, after drinking a cup of delicious Folger's Coffee, I hitch Dad's pack on my back, load up my pack on my torso, and make my way down the .9 mile trail to the parking lot.The trail is gorgeous, and it's a gorgeous day. Somehow I manage all the weight on me, and I only fall once on my way down the mountain. About five minutes from the end I meet Many Sleeps again, he wishes me luck, and just as I get to the parking lot, Dad pulls up. Perfect timing.After exchanging our fare-thee-wells and a hug, I set off. The Appalachian Trail truly is beautiful here. Half the time I'm walking through tunnels of rhododendron. Thankfully, for the first 4 miles or so it's all downhill, running alongside a creek.At a bridge I stop, eat some GORP, refill my water bottle and rehydrate. I take my time, inspecting my foot and just enjoying what nature has to offer.About ten minutes later Sixty and Dave show up. Sixty, who looks a little older than me, is a pretty girl with a large backpack. Dave, who looks almost identical to my friend Nick Rushin except he's not a vegetarian and doesn't walk like a balloon, is carrying an even bigger pack. 60 pounds. About a minute later Alex the hippie shows up. We all set forth for Hawk Mountain Shelter and enjoy each other's company.A few miles from Hawk we stop at Longcreek Falls. Quite nice! We take pictures and continue on. I reach Hawk Mountain Shelter at 3:00 with plenty of leftover energy. Not Guilty is here, along with a few others and a guy named Patriot Dan who is hiking 3 miles a day, with 2 titanium knees, a blind eye, and a rare form of lupus. He also has a tomahawk with him and wears a tricorner hat like olde-fashioned British naval commanders. He hopes to make it to Virginia "before dying."These are my Nature Spottings- I saw five Blackhawk helicopters roar over my head and too many insects. A black fly landed on my while I was... meditating... on the privy. And that's all for today.
Date: 2007-03-16
From: Bull Gap

To: Low Gap Shelter
Miles today: 9.5
Weather: overcast clouds

Well, I got soaked last night. Famous last words, huh? Didn't sleep a wink, was wet beyond happiness, and cold. Got packed up at 7:30 and was on the trail by 8 AM. Hiked a little less than 10 miles to Low Gap Shelter, where I'm sharing the shelter with Caveman, a laid off mechanical engineer from Connecticut, Biscuits, who's about my age and from Maryland, and two Alabama good ole boys. My sleeping bag is mostly dry, got some hot food in me, and I'm ready to hit the hay. Oh! and I almost forgot. Dave who looks like Nick Rushin but is called Reverend Daniels now due to the whiskey he had is here. Hiking in the rain and fog is fun*!*Not actually fun.
Date: 2007-03-17
From: Low Gap Shelter

To: Tray Mountain Shelter
Miles today: 14.9
Weather: clear sky

Coldest day yet; I hiked all day wearing almost every piece of clothing I own minus the winter jacket. It was also the longest at 15 miles, and I was pretty exhausted by the end. All in all, it was a gorgeous day - barely a cloud in the sky.Left a little after Biscuits and Caveman, who again planned on another big mileage day - I only went as far as they did today because I was running short on food.Arrived at Unicoi Gap midday. Unicoi is an extremely steep valley. My foot hurt going down, and my leg muslces hurt going up - but in the end I got through it, and I was content.The last big climb of the day was Tray Mountain. An exhausting ordeal at the end of the day when I'm already sore and frigid, I was happy to have finally submitted and hobble down to the shelter, where Biscuits and Caveman were eating dinner with Boo-Boo. A rather large group of Boy Scouts were camping nearby, and we taunted them from the "warmth" of our sleeping bags in the shelter.It was so fucking cold. It didn't help that half my gear was still soaking wet (and now full of ice) from the rain storm a few days ago.It was so cold I tried to do everything I could from the warmth of my sleeping bag, like like my stove. When I tried doing this, all wrapped up, Boo-Boo and Caveman started cracking up. Boo-Boo said I looked like a caterpillar in a chrysalis, and everyone laughed some more. So I finally have a trail name.
Date: 2007-03-18
From: Tray Mountain Shelter

To: Dick's Creek Gap
Miles today: 10.6
Weather: clear sky

After a frigid breakfast of oatmeal, I hit the trail at around 9:30, after watching the Boy Scouts cook their pancakes. Upon looking at my food bag after breakfast, I realized I had no more food. Not good. I had to get to Dick's Creek as soon as I could, where I had a mail drop waiting for me at the Cloud 9 Hiker Hostel.The day, despite the cold, was beautiful, and soon I was hiking along quite happy. It wasn't long, though, before the groin cramp began acting up - I didn't mention this yesterday, but last night when I went to go piss, I had a groin cramp because I probably pushed myself too hard yesterday - right near the right leg.So I'm hobbling down the trail, hungry and kinda miserable despite the nice day. I'm about 3.5 miles from Dick's Creek Gap when a man with fiery red hair comes bounding down the trail."Are you Katter-Pilllar?" he asked in an Irish accent."Yeah.""I'm Fran, from Cloud 9, some guys up ahead told me you were injured and that you were planning on staying at my place."Indeed! So he slacked me (carried my pack) the 3.5 miles to Dick's Creek and we talked about all sorts of things. He's actually Welsh-Irish, and Cloud 9 is also a trout farm - great smoked trout. His name is actually Frank, but pronounces it "Fran" - funny Welsh-Irish.At Cloud 9, Frank plopped me down in front of the big screen TV with a mess-load of other hikers I had never met before - then set a plate of Chicago-style pizza and baked beans in front of me with a cold beer - and let me tell you - it was paradise.I met Wonder, who was working for them - a 27-year old hiker bum - she was really cool, and his wife Laura, who was also very sweet. Hikers here are Rodeo Clown and Johanna, Meghan, Daniel, Honey-in-the-Morning and their dog, Tucker, Jeff and 1/4 Moon (whose entries I've been reading at the shelters for a while) a British guy everyone calls "England," Crutch (a thru-hiker on his 5th thru), and a bunch of other people.After a great dinner of stir fry, I'm ready to sleep in this wonderful bed upstairs. I'm so happy.
Date: 2007-03-19
From: Cloud 9

To: Cloud 9
Miles today: 0.0

So, I took a zero day today. I wasn't planning on doing so until Hot Springs, but I needed to dry out my bivy and write the article for the Suffolk County News (I hogged Laura's laptop for nearly an hour).Wonder drove us all around town today, and I bought food and [illegible] some gear and became friendly with some of the hikers, who are really cool peeps. Crutch gave us newbies some good advice. I met this guy named Trocar (Corey) who's a funeral director, and he's only like 5 years older than I am! When we were driving around town to-day, Wonder was talking about how she gets a kick out of funerals nowadays, because she's been to so many, and Trocar (a trocar is apparently an embalming instrument [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trocar]) said, "So do I." Ha!We found Alex, who I met the first day (hippie guy) wandering around Hiawassee, and we dropped him off at the hotel where another Caveman was with Smokey T and some other hiker trash. After hot tubbing it for an hour with Meghan, Honey-in-the-Morning, Daniel and Crutch, I went to sleep in the bunkhouse (NOT the Sayville kind) the hostel at Cloud 9. A great day, indeed, and my feet are happy. Quote of the Day:Father Christmas: (looking at a dog) "Is that dog fully grown?"Wonder: "It's 14 years old!"
Date: 2007-03-20
From: Cloud 9

To: Muskrat Creek Shelter
Miles today: 11.6
Weather: broken clouds

Entered North Carolina today, hiked with Daniel, Meghan, Clint (Honey-in-the-Morning was a joke trail name apparently) and England, who now wishes to be called - get this - Father Christmas! Haha!The trail, like most of Georgia, to Bly Gap, the first North Carolina valley upon entering the state, was pleasant. As soon as I got into North Carolina thought, the trail made a sharp turn to the right and went up the steepest climb so far. To make matters worse, the bandage on my right heel came off, and I'm in searing pain. Welcome to North Carolina, hikers.Finally reached Musket Shelter, and the Dude (a.k.a. Reverend Daniels) was there with some guy lugging around 55 pounds of cotton. Crazy. Daniel, Meg, Clint and Trocar showed up later, as did this crazy old man named "Third Time's the Charm" on his 4th attempt. Weird.Anyway, I'm exhausted, good night!Quote of the Day:Father Christmas: "Wildlife is gay. It deserves to be kicked."
Date: 2007-03-21
From: Muskrat Creek Shelter

To: Carter Gap Shelter
Miles today: 12.5
Weather: broken clouds

Today felt long - tons of rhododendrons everywhere. Lots of little streams to cross. I arrived at the shelter mid-afternoon. It's a nice location, though the Dude was already there, of course, as were two gentlemen named Mickey One-Sock and Forgetful - two REALLY good folks - so kind and Southern and positive about life. Mickey is so named because he looks like Mickey Rooney - ha!They left after eating and went about 4 miles further to Betty Creek for the night. When they left, the Dude lit a bowl. Sigh. I went to the woods to escape that stuff. The Dude always acts tough and cool - which is weird because he's like a muscled version of Nick Rushin - makes me uneasy...Meghan, Daniel, Clint and Tucker the dog showed up later (Meg's knee had been bothering her, and Clint isn't very fast). Clint decided to shelter it tonight instead of hanging his hammock - snores like hell - worse than Third Time's the Charm. That's all folks.
Date: 2007-03-22
From: Carter Gap Shelter

To: Rock Gap Shelter
Miles today: 11.9
Weather: scattered clouds

Went over Albert Mountain today - whole hell of a lot of fun. Hand over hand - wish it lasted longer though - oh well. You could see forever from up there...Meghan, Daniel and Clint + Tucker decided to only go on to the next shelter - Big Springs right after Albert, but I went on to Rock Gap with Packrat and Lucky, two brothers who are middle-aged whoe are really good people that we've been leap-frogging for a few days now. Slept in the shelter - got not sleep - they're just too freakin' hard - I'm gonna bivy it from now on, when it's not raining - so much more comfortable. Later on, Diamond showed up - a quiet girl from Florida - as did Spyder (Alex from the first day) and Shasta and his girl - I forget her trail name. They remembered me from Neal's Gap, but I didn't recognize them. I go into Franklin tomorrow. Weeeee.
Date: 2007-03-23
From: Rock Gap Shelter

To: Siler Bald Shelter
Miles today: 7.5
Weather: clear sky

Woke up early and hiked the four miles to Winding Stair Gap. Stuck out my thumb and what do you know - the first vehicle I see pulls over. Turns out it's Ron Haven's Trail Angel Service from the Budget Inn in Franklin - KTR (Kick the Rocks) is the driver. We got a lift into Franklin, I go to Ingle's (grocery store) buy a few oranges and apples, do laundry, yadda yadda, schmooze with the hikers at Budget - Wonder is here! Haven picked her up from Hiawassee (where Frank ( Caveman couldn't quite afford to keep her) and now she's cleaning rooms at the Budget. Haha!I go to Wendy's (yes, WENDY'S!) with the Dude and a hiker named Barry Manilow - he's a year or so older than I am - and to Three Eagles Outfitters where I buy necessary Dr. Bronner's soap (All-One! All-One!). Smells like peppermint.As the Dude, Barry and I are walking down the highway, a car passes us and I see Daniel stick his head out yelling "Katter-Pilllar!!!" and then zooming off. Hahaha. I guess they finally made it to Franklin.Meg is getting off here for a spell - she needs to rest and get her life in order for the five months she's going to be gone now that she's decided to do a thru. Clint decided the bed and shower was too enticing to pass up, so he's gonna sleep at the Budget.Daniel, myself and Father Christmas decided to go ahead to the Siler Bald Shelter - had KTR drop us off at the trailhead at Winding Stair.Siler bald is one of the nicest places I've seen yet. The shelter's pretty crappy, though, so I'm sleeping on the lumpy ground on my bivy. And it's a beautiful night.
Date: 2007-03-24
From: Siler Bald Shelter

To: Copper Ridge Bald
Miles today: 12.8

Today was strange. I had troubled dreams the night before; I pulled out of the shelter after Daniel, who has now decided to go with the name Footpump, but before Father Christmas, who likes to sleep in, apparently.I hadn't gone very far when I came to a road-crossing and - lo and behold! - trail magic. A couple of nice Trail Angels had set up a station where they had TP, snacks, soda, water and Coleman chairs. I wish it was a little further on, as I wasn't tired yet, but it was still greatly appreciated. Thanks guys! Sitting at the trail magic was a guy about my age named Yard Sale, who I hadn't met yet but had seen his registry entries. We hiked out toward Wayah Bald.Today really sucked because I couldn't for the life of me find my camera. If I had lost anything else it would be have been fine, but not that camera. It had some good memories on it. So typical of me.As Yard Sale and I approached Wayah Bald, we kept on getting passed by runners. Apparently there was a 21-mile race through the mountains from the NOC to Wayah Bald.We finally reached the watchtower at Wayah, whole lotta cars and people there for the race. Nice views, too. Wish I had my camera.Footpump was at Wayah and the three of us left after about 45 minutes or so. After a few hours of hiking, we came to another road crossing, and - lo and behold! - MORE trail magic from a guy named Apple in a gigantic orange dome tent. They served us coke, cookies and hot dogs (I didn't eat the hot dogs). But that coke really gave me energy - I cruised up that hill to Cold Spring Shelter.The shelter was shitty and buggy. The dude (who we met in Apple's tent and Footpump decided to push on an extra 6 miles to the next shelter. Yard Sale decided to stay, and I went on 2 more miles to a campsite with a great view (I NEED MY CAMERA!). There was an older lady there named Grambo camping with a deaf dog named Sammy. She was thru-hiking. Even though I told her my name, I think she forgot and kept on calling me "young man." Sigh. Onward to NOC tomorrow.
Date: 2007-03-25
From: Copper Ridge Bald

To: Campsite With Stream Past NOC
Miles today: 13.1

Got up at 7 and huffed it to the Nantahala Outdoor Center (NOC) in 5 hours - my feet were pretty sore afterward. I cooled them in the river there and met up with Rodeo Clown and Johanna.The NOC is really nice - and it seems everyone is here. Boo-Boo came up to me - I hadn't seen her since Dick's Creek - and we talked for a while. She's had some tough luck - her foot is all screwed up now so she has to take a few zero days.I bought some nachos with chili and cheese - eating meat was rather odd after not doing it for so long, but I was hungry. It was okay.After a great shower and some more schmoozing, I left the NOC around 4:00. I hoped to get a frew miles in because it was all uphill after the NOC for like 6 miles. It wasn't that bad - I'm getting in better shape - and I made it to the campsite in an hour and a half.I cruised into the campsite around 5:30 with Footpump and Rodeo Clown and Johanna (who may or may not be going with the trailname Trashbag) were there chillin'.I set up my bivy, hung my food with Footpump. The Owl, Spyder, and the Dude strolled in later that night wearing headlights - they were just passing through to the next shelter - they enjoy night hiking.I went to sleep at 9:00, depressed about my camera, but content, I guess.Oh, and I almost forgot. I called my parents, and I called Matt Minkel, and he'll meet me at Newfound Gap in the Smokies on Saturday.