morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2007-03-31
From: dicks creek gap

To: water oak gap
Miles today: 14.0

Today I am thinking of you Brandon, Margie and all my great employees, I know the stores have been busy and cindy tells me you are doing a great job while the captain is at play.I set out early this AM with a heavy pack and a heavy heart as my girls are off to florida and i am off for many days in the woods. today i will cross the Ga/NC border. Yeah mark it down folks, one state down and only thirteen to go.Speaking of heavy packs, while on the trail you will hear a lot of talk about how to lighten your gear and about gear in general. It is enough to make you nauseous. The trail abounds with gear-heads, i can only think of that famous song sung by the Hollies, come on folks you know the one, sing it with me now!"The trail is long, with many a winding turnthat leads us to nowherewho knows where?But i'm strongStrong enough to carry himHe aint heavy, he's my packso on we goHis welfare is a my concernno burden is he...to bearwe'll get there.For i know he would not have comebut for me.He aint heavy, he's my packIf i'm a leanin, at allI'm a leanin, with sadnessThat everyones pack Isn't filled with the gladnessOf gorp for one another.It's a long long trailfrom which there is no returnwhile we're on our way...to therewhy not share?And the load doesnt wiegh me down,at allhe aint heavy , he's my pack
Date: 2007-04-01
From: water oak gap

To: Betty Creek Gap
Miles today: 14.0
Weather: light rain

Amendment to 3/31 journal, we made it across the NC/Ga. border no problem and i must commend thefolks who maintain the Ga trail, very well done. Then Barking Spider and i got separated. I ended stealth camping miles from anywhere and everyone. Spent a very sleepless, unnerving night. Didn't know there were so many rustling noises in the woods. Then it began to rain, cold and hard.That was yesterday, today was worse. I got going at 6am, since i wasn't sleeping anyway i started walking, very slowly, in the deep, dark woods. each time i saw a blaze it gave me great comfort. Sun came up at 7am, and i wanted to make at least 17 miles today so i could get to Franklin by Monday just in case the gators made it to the finals.Ten miles into my walk it started to rain again, in torrents. My boots filled with mud and i was shaking with cold. I made it to an old shelter called carter gap, got naked, put on warm clothes, hot food, sleeping bag. I was the only one there. It was early yet and the rain had stopped, or so i thought. For some stupid reason i thought that since the rain had stopped i could make more miles. So i put on my cold wet clothes again and set out. Then the rain began again as before, this time though no shelter any where near so three miles into my next walk i set up tent in the pouring rain, again got naked, wiped out the tent with my wet clothes and got dry, hung my food bag in the rain (someone told me a bear had been spotted nearby). Got toasty warm in my bag, feeling like a true survivor and then ( doesn't this always happen when you get everything just the way you want it) I had to crap. Once again i couldn't sleep, all alone in the woods, stared at the tent roof for hours, decided to fix the blisters on my right foot (you get those when you hike in the rain) so i went to cut a blister pad in half and sliced my finger open, no bandages, bleeding like a stuck pig all over my bag. Used duct tape to close the wound.This is definitely an AT FIFTH FIRST, I have never been so vulnerable or all alone. This is a challenge that will test your nerves at times. Whose idea was this?
Date: 2007-04-02
From: Betty Creek Gap

To: winding stair gap
Miles today: 12.1
Weather: light rain

The hike today was great! the sun shines again. Had to do a quarter mile rock scramble up Albert Mountain with a heavy pack that really got me huffin and puffin. LESSON 7 today future thru-hikers is to forget about LESSON 4. Get rid of that heavy stuff, throw out that smoothie blender!!!! Hey it takes a real man to admit when he's wrong, my pack is heavy.The view from Albert Mountain was magnificent. I could see the mountains rising above the clouds below. (view pictures) In the distance i could see the Great Smokies and was excited to think i will soon be on those towering hills. I conquered mt. albert then i conquered the tall fire tower on top of mt albert, a knee shaking, mind bending experience on a windy day. I highly recommend you tackle this on a sunny day.
Date: 2007-04-03
From: winding stair gap

To: winding stair gap
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: clear sky

Wow it's great to be a Florida Gator!! I'm here in Franklin, NC taking a zero day. This is the home of "Savin,Slavin,Ron Haven. That's his nickname, well it's not really his nickname, i just gave him that name cause he saves hikers from cold and hunger and he works so hard for us. Great guy (see photo). Got more great news today. Barking Spider got lost in the woods the same night i suffered through that storm and was saved by two hunters who put him in their truck and brought him here. He has rejoined the trail (see his journal).I am also visiting some friends here from Bradenton, The Fortneys takin me to dinner tonight!!!Some of you future thru-hikers have asked me "gator what is the very best way to train for this ordeal?" Well Here's LESSON 8, what you do to get ready is dont bathe, wash your clothes or completely wipe your ass for one week, then with bits of food in your beard and toilet paper stuck to your butt go to an all you can eat restaurant in your town. Make a total pig out of yourself and then just before the manager comes over to kick you out, ask him if he can give you a ride back to the trail.Now on a more serious note, i want to thank all of you who have sent supporting comments to my guestbook. My wife deletes the negative ones so i don't get to read those but she did tell me that a few of you have expressed concern that i don't respect the trail. Nothing could be further from the truth, i totally abide by the "leave no trace policy" and now that i am out here i have a great respect for any man, woman, or child who has done this. At this early point i dont know if i can go all the way but if i do it will be my quirky sense of humor that will get me through the loneliness. i sincerely apologize if i have offended anyone.
Date: 2007-04-04
From: winding stair gap

To: cold spring shelter
Miles today: 16.0
Weather: scattered clouds

Note: I have been told by my wife that there is a 14 year old student following my journal as a class project. While i am flattered i must ask that your parents edit prior to your viewing as my sense of humor tends toward the adult version. Certainly nothing you would not see in the movies or get at school but still i would rate myself as PG-13. Even more importantly please keep eating at Sweetberries as this trip is expensive and i need the money. Now for catching up on my journal (sorry it has taken me so long, hey ive been in the mountains you know)Today's hike is dedicated to my great managers Charis and Rhonda, also to you Kim (happy birthday)The trail is one of the few remaining places in America where all of your neighbors still say hello.Even the small towns are friendly. Just last night i bought a six pack of beer in Franklin and the friendly cashier asked if I would like a bag for the beer.I said "sure". She then produced a paper bag barely large enough to squeeze in the six pack, prompting her to say, in a perfect southern drawl, "i'll hold er open if yew will just stick it in". I just smiled and said "honey that's the nicest thing any woman has said to me all week".I guess she doesn't read "white blaze" either. Seems like i am getting some bad press there (all well deserved i'm sure).I have actually had two people, at different times, stop me and ask if i am gatorgump? (one even took my picture to send home to his wife, guess she's reading my journal, right bert?)I just look at em cautiously, then i reply "no i'm gatorrump" and i point to barking spider and say "he's gatorgump". Today was a perfectly cool day and i took in many beautiful vistas from atop Wayah Bald. We have camped on a nice ridge above cold springs shelter as it was full. Tonight it is supposed to get in the low teens temperature wise so i will have to sleep with my water bottles. Strong winds also expected.
Date: 2007-04-05
From: cold spring shelter

To: the Nantahala river
Miles today: 12.0

Damn this old florida boy ain't used to this bitter cold. the wind does not go quietly. It howls up these mountain valleys like a freight train, works it's way up your pant legs, in your ass and out your ears. This has to be what electro-shock therapy feels like. "I'm cured lord, i'm cured, now let me live"!through sheer will power i get out of my warm sleeping bag and make it to the NOC (Nantahla Outdoor center)LESSON 9 for you future thru-hikers is wait till May...stupid (the stupid part is for me)The NOC is a massive outdoor complex right on the AT, complete with 4 restaurants, outfitters, an inn and a large hostel.We checked out the outfitters before hitting the trail. they also tried to get me to lighten my load. Tried to sell me a bladder system for drinking water. That is a system whereby you keep a bag of water in your pack and drink it through a straw as you hike.i told the salesman "real men drink their water like they drink their beer, (and their milk) straight from the bottle". (yes kids milk used to come in a bottle)He didnt like that much, so to ease his pain i said "look if you have a system that will feed me through a tube while i hike then extract and dispose of the urine and feces, ill buy it".He didnt like that much either.LESSON 10 Future thru-hikers- dont drink your water like an invalid on oxygen, drink it like a man.
Date: 2007-04-06
From: the Nantahala river

To: stecoah gap
Miles today: 14.0
Weather: broken clouds

This morning before leaving the NOC we met Florida Jack, another great gator grad. Barking Spider was giving us grief, stating that the gators would not have been in contention for the national football championship had not his school, Rutgers, not beaten Louisville. He then stated that he predicts Rutgers will win a national championship in the next ten years, to which Jack responded "yeah but who is going to watch fencing?". that endeared me to him immediately.I have also met other noteable hikers, like "Genesis", a handsome young man, with a matt damon smile who has recently graduated from college and is terrified about his now uncertain future. He hopes this trail will be his Genesis, his beginning. I like that.Another memorable hiker is "doodles". Each shelter has a log book and she always doodles in them. She reminds me of my daughter because she is shy with a warm smile and is alot tougher than most give her credit for.I hike faster than many other hikers so i am often ahead on the trail waiting for "spider" in a soft bed of leaves letting the sun bathe me in it's warmth.Then shortly up the trail comes doodles and her smile does the same.Many hikers leave lengthy messages in the shelter journals, i just sign mine "gator gump, over a mountain he did hump". I passed a group of hikers at breakfast and they asked me my trail name, i told them gatorgump and in unison they said "over a mountain he did hump". I had to give them all high fives, low fives, fist fives, the white man's five, (where you jump up and miss slap), you know all the fives.
Date: 2007-04-07
From: stecoah gap

To: Fontana dam
Miles today: 15.0
Weather: overcast clouds

Its not just cold here it is record cold. The frozen expanding earth pushes the moisture up forming ribbons of ice that line the trail like rock candy. The soil crunches beneath my heavy boots and the part i like best is my snot forms mini stalagtites beneath my cavernous nose.It's not just cold, it is record cold.As we hike we sweat, when we stop we freeze. Hot, cold, hot, cold, so often that i am hoping to develop some form of "hypothermia immunity"...either that or get a fever and die.
Date: 2007-04-08
From: Fontana dam

To: smokies start.
Miles today: 0.3

We spent last night in the famous shelter called the "Fontana Hilton" and we are here (still bitter cold) at fontana dam, which every hiker knows is the starting point into the great smokey mountains national park for all us "northbounders". What most hikers don't know though is a bit of trail history i picked up. This is also the birthplace of the "name game". As a matter of fact many people still refer to this as "banana, banana, fontana" Huh how bout that?At the shelter we met an interesting guy named "coyote", an american indian with five kids, four ex-wives and three grand kids, and he's younger than i. He is a generous guy and always has more food than he needs so he shares.(personally i think he is up here to avoid alimony and child support)Today is what you might call a low mileage day (but not a true zero day, guess you would call it a nearo)We are warming up at the "Hike INN" with great owners Jeff and Nancy before heading into the very cold Smoky Mountains. Hey, i never said i was Kit Carson, truth be known i have more in common with Johnny Carson.
Date: 2007-04-09
From: smokies start.

To: spenser field shelter
Miles today: 16.0
Weather: overcast clouds

As you enter the "Smokies" it is apparent that you are in bear country. Warnings are everywhere and many of the shelters have chain link cages protecting the hikers while they sleep. It is a kind of bear poetic justice, if you will. People stay in cages, bears come by, take a few pictures...move on.Menstruating women have a particular problem. Seems a bear can smell a heavy flow from miles away. It was such a concern that the ATC (Appalachian Trail Council) was considering a rule that all females in that condition be required to sleep half a mile downwind of all other hikers. I for one would never support such a sexist ruling. Two or three bear lengths away should suffice.In this park it is very important that you hang your food, soap, and toothpaste high in a tree. (seems bears also like fresh breath). So we hung our food in a tree with care.In hopes no bear would be there. (a gump original)As we hike to the great heights of the Smokies the scenes change dramatically. The trees are all bent and gnarled like ancient hunchbacked sentinels on guard.
Date: 2007-04-10
From: spenser field shelter

To: double spring gap shelter
Miles today: 13.8
Weather: light rain

The sun is bright but it belies the cold beneath. Great hiking weather but miserable sleeping weather.During the days hike, several times i hear the mating call of the ruffed grouse. They have a distinct thumping sound akin to distant muffled drums. Makes one feel as if he is the great white hunter searching for tarzan, jane and cheetah. The native drums in the distance means they know you are here. No correct that, i've been out here a while now; i am tarzan, searching for jane, the hell with cheetah.I know my photo collection is full of mountain vistas. They are akin to watching the sun set over Anna Marie Island while drinking fine wine, listening to Sara Brightman sing "Ave Maria". It is a moment that you never tire of. The difference here is there are no loud neighbors or some young punk whose sound system costs more than the car, vibrating you and everything around you for three blocks. The moment is yours and yours alone...
Date: 2007-04-11
From: double spring gap shelter

To: newfound gap
Miles today: 10.8
Weather: overcast clouds

I cannot overstate how miserable today was. This section of trail from rocky top to clingmans dome (highest point on the entire AT) is the toughest i have encountered yet, made all the harder by today's weather. The wind gusts were so strong i could not walk a straight line, the rain so cold i had to drag my hiking poles by their wrist straps in order to warm my fingers in balled fists.The evergreen forests, while beautiful, shadow the trail keeping the path and rocks frozen solid. The trees, laden with ice and billowing in the strong wind, hurl large chunks down upon my head and shoulders as if to say "get the hell out of here".I fell hard three times. The third time i struggled to my feet; the trail said "youre goin down again boy". I yelled back in my best Rocky Balboa slang,"no way, i aint goin down no mo, no way"This was the first time so far i was reminded of my heart doctors warning "not to attempt this hike". (this of course after i turned down his $3000 request for a stress test)Today's hike has inspired me to write a small poem which i keep in my pocket should any other hiker find my body. It goes like this;Here lies old gator gumpOver a mountain he did humpTwas trudging up Clingman's domeStopped his heart, sent him homeOf his meager remains, one requestSend these bones to his Cardiologist
Date: 2007-04-12
From: newfound gap

To: newfound gap
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: clear sky

Note: It seems i have been censored. Trail journals.com has requested the photos of my beautiful gator rump be removed. it is their site and i respect their wishes. Most of you following my journal had ample time anyway to view that nice behind and if you will send five dollars i will be sure to get you a cheaply framed 8X11 for your fireplace mantle. I am here in Gatlinburg, TN taking a much needed zero hiking day.Anyone who likes this town should have his head examined for real brain activity. I should also mention too, that the trail, as it goes through the smoky mountains, winds along both Tennessee and North Carolina so by the time you reach Virginia you have completed two more states. Kind of a two for one deal if you will.As i rest my tired feet here i reflect on lessons learned. Many, many hikers will relate stories of how the trail is a life changing experience. Many important lessons learned along the way.I too have learned some important lessons in my initial weeks on the trail.For example i have learned that the strong overwhelming urge to crap on a frigid cold morning will not abate just because you decide to hike instead....nor will it abate because you decide to hike faster.I have also learned that armpit odor, left untreated, will spread....to other parts of your body.
Date: 2007-04-13
From: newfound gap

To: tricorner knob shelter
Miles today: 15.6
Weather: broken clouds

NOTE: It is still cold here. I had a hard time convincing "barking spider" that we needed to get back on the trail. He is missing his wife, has a swollen shin, and is concerned about the weather forecast, cold expected on sunday.My lips are dry and cracked, i have no chapstick so i am using the same wax i use on my feet to keep away blisters. This is the first time in my life i can actually smell my own lips. It's for certain no one will want to kiss me anytime soon.We met a thru-hiker this morning by the name of "three times a charm" (ironic thing is this is his fourth attempt at completing the AT) and he told us that a hiker had to be taken off the mountain yesterday and treated for hypothermia.Today was euphoric!!! It was cold but sunny and the views were spectacular. This section of the trail is the most impressive since leaving Springer mtn. Much of the trail follows a high ridge with very steep drop-offs to the left and the right. I took so many pictures i don't know which to delete.I saw some wild turkey run across my path. I know you hunters are saying "big deal" but you have to remember the only wild turkey i have ever seen is on the label of a good bottle of whiskey.Speaking of whiskey, spider and i packed in four bottles of scotch (yes the small bottles). So tonight i drink a silent toast to all of you. I toast to my wonderful wife and kids, i toast to my great parents and my gram, i toast to my brother and sisters who have all encouraged me, i toast to you bob and tom who share in my adventure. I toast to all of my great employees who have made sweetberries the best restaurants of their kind, i toast to all of you who have written great words of encouragement in my journal. (good thing i packed two bottles) I guess you can tell where my priorities are, i pack in scotch but chapstick is too heavy.
Date: 2007-04-14
From: tricorner knob shelter

To: Standing bear hostel
Miles today: 17.0
Weather: light rain

Today was my best day yet! The rain held off but the wind was strong so i was hiking with my head down and daydreaming (as i often do) and sure enough i turned down the wrong trail at a place called "low gap". I must have gone 3/4 of a mile when i realized i hadnt seen any white blazes for a while. I stopped to check my map and also pulled out my water bottle. when i looked up there was a bear not more than 30 yards from me. A big black bear sitting in a lush green area.I actually smelled the beast before i saw it, smelled just like my sons big black lab after running outside all day....only more so.I froze and dropped my water bottle (which rolled down a ravine and i had to take my pack off to retrieve it) the bear took off into the brush.It was a moment i will never forget. this was definitely my AT SIXTH FIRST!!!Then later that day i saw and caught my first snake, a slender green snake (see photos). It was a "beauty" as the crocodile hunter used to say.All of the bunks at the standing bear hostel were full when i arrived so i am sleeping in an old wooden shed (see photo) full of rat dung, rotten boards and an old stained mattress (i dont want to guess what kind of stains these are). Total cost for these luxury accomodations...five dollars.
Date: 2007-04-15
From: Standing bear hostel

To: Roaring fork shelter
Miles today: 14.6
Weather: moderate rain

I am still stoked about my bear. I have decided it was a female because she had beautiful big brown eyes and twitched her nose at me before she ran. the way i look and smell all the women are doing that.I love that bear. We are having a kind of "bear affair" if you will. My bear reminded me of one of my favorite songs i have stored on my i-pod. It is by Van Morrisson called "brown eyed bear". You all know the song, come on sing it with me!Hey where did we godays when the rains cameYou ate my big toePlayin a new gameLaughin and a LimpinHey, HeySteppin and a jumpinIn the misty mornin fogwith youMy hearts a thumpin....youMy brown eyed bearWhat ever happenedto eatin so slowyea this old manwith only one toestandin in the sunlight laughinhidin under the rainbow wallslippin and a slidinall under the water fallwith youmy brown eyed bear.These are the best of times, these are the worst of times. things on the trail can change so quickly. I started today thinking about my bear and when the rain started the temperature also fell.I met a "trail angel" at brown gap in a dome tent handing out hot dogs and hot chocolate to hikers. He warned me that it was 20 degrees on Max Patch mtn with 100 mile per hour wind gusts. Thats right i said wind gusts at 100 miles per hour. I went up; some of the blazes marking the trail over this wide open bald topped summit were blown away, visibility was zero.the weather was unfathomable, i cannot describe how hard the wind was blowing ice and snow into my face and eyes. I met a young man just standing in the cold named scott. I didnt think he was in danger but as i write this journal entry his father has organized a search party for him, missing two days now.I have learned several hikers had to be treated for hypothermia. When i finally got to a shelter it took me an hour to stop shaking by warming up in my tent and sleeping bag.I was told that Barking spider got a late start up max patch and had to turn back. i have not seen him in a while.this was the first time out here that i seriously thought i could possibly die. many of the other hikers also got lost in the same place and suffered the same way.