morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2006-08-10
From: Home in NY

To: Home in NY
Miles today: 0.0

Went to the doctor. She said basically the same thing, that she's almost sure it's viral, and with viruses, the only thing you can do is treat the symptoms. They can run every test under the sun on me but since I don't have insurance, we'll probably just be wasting money. If it gets worse, go to the ER, if it gets better, good. And that viruses sometimes take a *long* time to really work themselves through. Made an appointment for a week later, so if I'm not back on the trail in a week, I'll start with the tests.I've been spending a lot of time on the internet diagnosing myself from the symptoms (doctors love when their patients do that) and it really does sounds like West Nile. If that's what it is, then there's nothing you can do but wait and get better.I do feel a bit better, but I felt better last time and then got worse. Still no where near hiking shape, though. Still tired, still with the stiff neck. I'm not even going to consider getting back until Monday, at least.Also, I have FINALLY added pictures! Click here to see them. At some point I might put some on Trailjournals abut that takes forever. The dates are on the bottom of the pictures so you can tie them back to the journal entries (if you really want to).
Date: 2006-08-11
From: Home in NY

To: Home in NY
Miles today: 0.0

Feel like I'm getting better, slowly slowly slowly getting better.Laid low today, went out to dinner with my aunt who's in town from TN and my mom and uncle. One of my old college buddies are picking me up in a bit to go into the city to a studio to play. These are the guys I was in a band with way back when. Should be a lot of fun; haven't played together since college and since I haven't picked up a bass in months I'll be a bit rusty. But even though I'll be up late, Rock and Roll is good for the soul so I consider it part of my recovery.
Date: 2006-08-12
From: Home in NY

To: Home in NY
Miles today: 0.0

Very tired today. Could have something to do with playing with my old college band until 2 AM.. we had a lot of fun though. Last time I played with those guys was our last gig at Cheers in Binghamton, I believe. Got blisters on my fingers from not having picked up a bass in months.Was also great to see NYC again. Took the 59th St. Bridge in (my favorite bridge in the world) and got to drive downtown for a bit. I really, really do miss NY, but.. like I always say, it just wouldn't work out. I don't have a NY personality anymore. I've unwound too much.Went to my sister's for a BBQ which was a lot of fun. Got to see my nephews; they were very tired but still very funny. We were quizzing Owen (who's 3) to see what he knows and I asked him where I live and he said "Hikin!" Good answer! He used to say Chicago.Still resting...
Date: 2006-08-13
From: Home in NY

To: Home in NY
Miles today: 0.0

Tired today but feeling better. I think Thursday will be the day.. I'll either be buying a bus ticket to Bennington VT or to Chicago. I have a doctor's appt on Tues, so we'll see what he thinks. Maybe I'll walk to there.. it's about 4 or 5 miles away.Met up with some more college / post college friends today.. again, great to see everyone. Weird how when you're out on the trail and come back, you're much more appreciative of your friends and family. I'm a very lucky dude to have these people around me.
Date: 2006-08-15
To: Off the trail
Miles today: 0.0

Well everyone, I am offically not hiking the AT anymore this year.Just got back from the doctor and they're running a battery of tests, but he highly recommends that I do not hike until at least 4 weeks after my last fever. If I were feeling ok and were a true thruhiker I'd be out the next day after getting advice like that, but the truth is that I don't feel ok.. I barely have enough energy to get me through a day of doing nothing, let alone a day of hiking through New England. I certainly hope they find something in those tests. I'm very concerned about what this is. I also want a reason for making this decision to quit other than "I didn't feel good."Thanks though, everyone who's been following this. I have gotten tons of support from all of you, from friends, family, and complete strangers. When you know that that many people are behind you it makes a huge difference, and I can't thank you enough.I have a lot more to say but I'll save the swan song for a later entry. I need to gather my thoughts a bit first.
Date: 2006-08-19
To: Lyme!
Miles today: 0.0

Got the results from the doctor, I've had Lyme this whole time. I never got the bullseye rash and my original Lyme test came back negative, but now it's showing up positive. I'm actually very, very happy to hear that, believe it or not, because it's something treatable and testable.How people were hiking with this I have no idea.. I think most of them caught it with the rash and nipped it early. Maybe I should have been on the doxycycline instead of amoxicillin like everyone else out there was (I've been doing my homework). It certainly did me in, though. I also have been feeling better yesterday and today, a lot more like a human being. The doc said that I'll have symptoms for a while, and that I'll need to go back in six months to be tested again to make sure it's kicked.phew.. never thought hearing that I have Lyme would be good news but it certainly was in this case.
Date: 2006-09-05
To: View Entry
Miles today: 0.0

So it's a month today that I've been off the trail. Been doing my best to adjust to 'real life' but it has not been easy, not at all. I got myself a job, starting tomorrow, and I'm scared to death of it. Over the last month I have felt a lot of the positive changes that have happened to me draining out, and I know that I can't go back to my trail-self with a full time job.. I have to let some of those qualities slide, and loose some of the peace that I've gained. I wonder if I'll be as good at my job as I used to be.Waltzing Matilda came to visit me last week.. we dropped off at the same place, around the same time, so it was good to have someone to talk to about the trail, about not finishing, and about trying to readjust. She's waiting for her sisters to finish.. they should summit in a few weeks, along with Hawkeye, Knock Knock and EROCK. We were both such losers though, she couldn't walk too much because of her leg problem, and I don't have the strength to walk too much because of the Lyme, so we did a lot of sitting around. We miraculously found a store that sold Vegemite, though, so we had Vegemite on toast on her last day here. Maybe if I eat it every day I'll have whatever chemical reaction is necessary to think that that stuff actually tastes good, but for now I just don't get it.I've been a bit of a recluse as well.. I've only seen a handful of my friends, and usually not for too long. Sometimes it's hard to know what to say, because our lives have been going along such different paths for so long.Going back to the doctor this afternoon.. I've still got some pretty strong Lyme symptoms that fade in and out every 5 days or so. On the bad days I'll have trouble walking straight, bad headaches, very tired, and then on good days I'm fine. This sucks.
Date: 2006-09-06
To: More visits to the doctor..
Miles today: 0.0

Went to the doctor yesterday and they were pretty concerned; I was worried that they wouldn't be concerned at all and were just going to send me on my merry way. But they recommended that I get a cat scan and a spinal tap because they think, given my symptoms, that the infection is in my nervous system and if that's the case, then I need to be on IV antibiotics instead of just oral. I don't know what IV antibiotics entails but it doesn't sound like too much fun (or too cheap, for that matter).Spinal tap is tomorrow.. fun. They have a reputation for being extremely painful but the Internet says they're not so bad, and the Internet is always right. I did most of my research here.Apologies for these posts, since they really have little to do with the trail anymore. I'm going to continue to post though, because I know a lot of potential thruhikers read these religiously and I think it's important to know the possible outcomes with Lyme, and what's done about them. Most hikers don't take tick-checks too seriously.On a happier note, a funny thing happend while eating pancakes this morning.. just before putting a bite into my mouth I noticed a little gnat had flown on to it and got stuck in the butter, and without thinking I ate him. That might sound gross, but on the trail it happens quite a bit. I didn't even realize that that was a strange thing to do until afterwards. Guess I've still got a bit of the trail in there somewhere!
Date: 2006-09-08
To: View Entry
Miles today: 0.0

Got the cat scan and spinal tap yesterday.. the spinal tap really wasn't as bad as I thought it would be, considering its reputation. Very little pain, just felt strange. A little sore today in my lower back, but I've heard that they can sometimes cause rip-roarin' headaches, which I was lucky enough not to have.Should find out Wed what my sentence is.. weeks of oral antibiotics or weeks of IV antibiotics. Hope it's the former!Start work on Monday after putting it off for a week.. they've been really great about it but I feel bad, starting a new job and then taking a week of sick.
Date: 2006-09-13
To: View Entry
Miles today: 0.0

Was supposed to hear back from the doctors today with results from the spinal tap, but the lab hasn't finished doing whatever it is that labs do. The last few days have been awful. Since Saturday I've had perfectly spectacular headaches, which they say can happen because your body is still leaking spinal fluid. Leaking spinal fluid! It was like my heart was pumping molten lead up my neck into my head.I was supposed to start work (again) this past Monday, but I was only able to come in the one day and am taking the rest of the week off. So far they've been infinitely patient with me but they have a job to do as well, and I hope that I'm well enough in time to not disappoint them.In the meantime I've started filling in some of the gaps in my journal, starting with 4/11 - 4/16. Anyone interested in the Lost Adventures of Kilgore Trout should check it out.. there¢re actually lots of funny things in there, now that I¢m reading it over. I'm going from my written journal which has barely survived a few soakings and some mouse attacks, so bits and pieces are inserted from memory. After the 4/16 post I¢ll probably just post one entry per day (it¢s more suspenseful that way).A lot of the folks that I was hiking with are finishing just about now.. congrats guys!!
Date: 2006-09-29
To: View Entry
Miles today: 0.0

Sorry! Been a while between updates.. I can't believe people are still reading this. The results from the spinal tap tests came back negative, thankfully, which means the Lyme had not crossed the 'brain / blood barrier' into my nervous system, and I don't have to be on IV. So I've been on weeks of Doxy and still having symptoms, but nowhere near as intense as before. Yesterday was a bad day.. knocked over my soda at the sandwich shop cause I can't always get my hands to work right. Calling the doctor soon to see what he wants to do about extending the prescription. If I miss a dose of the meds I see a real marked difference in how I feel, which is making me worried that it's just working to keep the symptoms in check, and is not really curing anything.The Layman Family finished the trail yesterday. Very happy for them, but I was very, very down about not being about to be out there. ¢Being-off-the-Trail¢ syndrome has been really kicking in lately.Other than that things are good.. working out in Naperville, IL with my old boss and old peers from my former job, and that¢s going very well now that I¢m a bit healthier. Went camping last weekend to get my ¢fix¢ in the woods. Other than that, it¢s pretty much back to normal life (which is hard to swallow, but that¢s the way it goes!)Updated a few more days in the journal, around 4/20.
Date: 2006-02-04
To: View Entry
Miles today: 0.0

Well then, here I am again. I don't know if I'll be any better about writing in my online journal this year vs last year, but I figure that it's at least worth putting in the three entries and letting people know I'll be back on the trail! I'm planning to hike starting April 2nd and end somewhere around the 1st of May, when I'll switch over to the PCT and start my PCT thru hike attempt.
Date: 2006-02-05
To: View Entry
Miles today: 0.0

So, what have I been up to? Getting fat, that's what! After finishing the trail last September, I went to work again almost right away. While nice on the check book, it was a major shock going from the freedom of the trail to the freedom of a desk. I'm up *mumble* lbs from when I finished the trail, and I need to get myself into shape and trail shape if I want to enjoy and have success for my AT and PCT hikes. Somewhere around the White Mountains, I decided that the status quo was fine and that I was going to stay in my chosen career and give it another go. Well, that was all well and good, but my heart just isn't in it anymore, so I hope to actually make a clean break this time. I have a business idea that I think I'm going to run with when I finish hiking this year, and I am not going to make the mistake of returning to riding a desk again.
Date: 2006-02-06
To: View Entry
Miles today: 0.0

My gear is not in hiking shape right now. I need to wash and mend my pack, wash my sleeping bag, see if I can get my headlamp cleaned up and working (battery leak), replace a stuff sack that a rodent chewed through when I camped in Bigelow Col, etc. Progress I made today included ordering a new pair of trail runners and getting out for an 8 mile walk this evening. I'm getting excited about getting out and hiking again this year! I see some familiar names here on trail journals and I'm starting my journey almost the same as last year. Of course, I'm shooting for an April 2 start instead of April 13 this year, but I'm staying at the Hiker Hostel again and am looking forward to the beauty of hiking in GA, NC, and TN.
Date: 2006-02-09
To: View Entry
Miles today: 0.0

I've experienced a bit of deja vu this week. I had hoped to have a nice clean break from my job as a computer consultant. My contract was coming to an end, and I was just going to roll off with no harm no foul. So, I'm at the same client as last year, and yet again, they wanted to extend me. I am getting an extra month of work out of the deal, so I can't complain too much, but I still feel badly that yet again I'm telling this client that I'm sorry, but I'm going hiking for six months! I keep meaning to change careers, but I always seem to end up back where I started, so we'll see what happens at the end of the year. There's never a dull moment around here. My last day of work is 3/31 and I fly out on 4/1. I'm glad that I've been through this before and know what to expect. I am taking one week in March to spend time with my wife and family before the hike. I can't wait to get started though, I miss the trail, the lifestyle, the people, and the freedom.I still have a lot of prep work to do, but I'm getting there. Replacing equipment is getting tedious. It took forever to find a place that had Montrail Hardrocks in 13W available, and I still can't find a new watch with the same features as my old one!
Date: 2006-03-23
To: View Entry
Miles today: 0.0

Just about one week left until I depart. I have so much work to do yet it's not even funny. Still, I've made time to keep in touch with some of the wonderful hikers that I met last year too. The 100 mile wilderness was really something else last year with flooded steams and crazy fords. The last week on the trail was by far the hardest, but it really brought a lot of us together. I hope to see Ramblin'Man, Handyman, Walmart Joe, and maybe Hal out on the various trails this year. They helped make my final week on the AT a success last year.I'm in contact with a lot more people that I probably won't see out on the trail this year. Great folks like Too Obtuse, Col Mustard, Retro, The Troll Family, Brother Buzz, and Skywalker. I haven't forgotten others that I met along the way, such as Numbers either.One week until I'm with my trail family again. I'll add to it this year, I'm sure. Long distance hikers and people that help long distance hikers are some of the best people out there, and helped to restore my faith in humanity.So, for those I know, if I see you on the trail feel free to point and laugh at my extra inches that I gained in the off season. For those I don't know, I look forward to meeting you. For those that helped a hiker out when you didn't have to--thank you.
Date: 2006-03-26
To: View Entry
Miles today: 0.0

I came up with my position statement for my hike today. I'm thru-hiking the PCT because I can! Of course, this is an AT journal, but my main hike for the year is going to be a PCT thru-hike attempt. Perhaps I need use a slightly different statement for my nice section/prep hike on the AT.One week from right now and I'll be on the AT. It will be interesting to see how things have changed from last year, how they have stayed the same, and what choices I'll make this year.Today I finally did a task that I'd put off since getting home last year, I washed my pack and my sleeping bag. Washing a down sleeping bag isn't the hard part, it's the drying that is the PITA. Multiple hours at the laundromat having tennis balls and a down sleeping bag being all you're waiting for is tedious at best. Still, I have a clean and LOFTING sleeping bag now, and tennis balls in a dryer are fun to watch!I'm a little disappointed in how poorly my ULA P2 has held up. I think I can coax another hike from it, but it's going to be a lost cause for next year. For the price, the seams and such could be a bit better. Don't get me wrong. I hiked from GA->ME with this pack, and I love the pockets, and how the pack fits me. I'm just a little disappointed in the build quality/endurance. I know it's made of lighter materials, but still I've only had it on one thru-hike. If it looked like this after two or three years, I'd feel better about the whole deal. With that said, ULA makes nice packs with great pockets, and those packs will get you through a single thru-hike of the AT, PCT, etc. just fine. Brian warns buyers that his packs do not last as long as traditional material packs. He just discontinued the P2, so maybe the new packs are even better. To be fair, this pack withstood about twenty weeks of use. That's what, ten or twenty years worth of use in normal non-thru hiker hiking? Do I have unrealistic expectations?I was terrified that I was going to break my poles while replacing the tips, but I found a little nugget online that made this a piece of cake. Take a crescent wrench (the adjustable ones), and open it up all the way. Hold your pole vertical and put the wrench around the pole above the tip/baskets. Tap the tip off using the wrench. Hard to explain, but easy to do. It took a few seconds to free tips with over 1000 trail miles on them.
Date: 2006-03-30
To: View Entry
Miles today: 0.0

Well, here we go. I have one day of work, one travel day, and them I'm off and hiking! I can't wait to be on the trail again. Freedom, friends, and exercise are a great combo. I got an email from my friend Ramblin'Man today and he'll be down at the Hiker Hostel on 4/1 too, so I'll be starting the trail in excellent company. If things go well, I'll see at least three of my hiking friends that I was with on Katahdin with last year.I built an alcohol stove this evening. I carried a brasslite last year and it was good, but heavy. I built a YACC stove, and it's over 2oz lighter than my Brasslite. It seems to work OK. I may build a pressurized one to compare at some point though.One last evening to try to cut some weight, to finish last minute prep, and to enjoy the company of my wife, and then it's off to the trails. A year ago I was near my last day of work too and heading out into the unknown. This year is a little bit of known, and a lot of unknown, but I know myself and I have one long trail under my belt. Life is good right now, and I look forward to revisiting some of the magic of hiking the AT last year.Here I go onto the hiking weight loss plan. Give us six months, and we'll take off the weight. Last year I started in great shape and ended that way. This year, I have extra pounds that need to melt away. I expect a month or so of hurt before things really settle in and my clothes fit again. I keep on harping on my weight because it is an issue this year. I gained a lot of weight, and I want to look like I did in ME again ASAP.ATL here I come. Onward to GA, NC, TN, and maybe even Damascus, VA. Over to the left coast and my first time ever in CA, OR, and WA. Another journey, continued adventure, and new friends (along with old) await.
Date: 2006-03-31
To: View Entry
Miles today: 0.0

Here we go. Tomorrow, I head home (to the trail). Everything is packed. It's time to go take a hike. I'm still hearing from all the great folks that I met along the trail last year. The trail family is wonderful and I can't wait to go home. Springer fever is a horrible affliction. We know of no cure, but the symptoms may be mitigated for a time by hiking long distances.
Date: 2006-03-31
To: KellyZ
Miles today: 0.0

Greetings! I'm Kelly, or, I guess, Mrs. Knees. Last year, when Knees left for the AT, I said I'd type up his journal entries for him. Any of you who read the 2005 AT journal know just how many entries I typed. Zero. So, I have resolved this year to actually do what I said I would do. I'll be typing in Knees' entries for his time on the AT this year, and then doing his entries for the PCT in his PCT journal.I walked to the mailbox this afternoon expecting bills and junk mail. And instead, I had a lovely envelope with Knees' first set of journals. I hope you have as much fun reading them as I do!~~Kelly
Date: 2006-04-01
From: Kenosha, WI

To: Hiker Hostel
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: light rain

Here I am again at the hiker hostel in GA. Tomorrow, Ramblin' Man and I are going to start at Amicalola at about 9:00 AM. I saw a blast from the past on my flight to ATL, as a former co-worker was heading to FL with her husband and daughter on my flight! Josh picked me up from the MARTA station, and to the hostel we went. After a trip up to Woody Gap to check for hikers, it was back to the hostel and out to Neels Gap, as there was a hiker cookout going on. Meat only, so I ate a Subway, but it was fun to see the hikers. They seem so green for the most part, so it's interesting to be here with my experiences from last year. Still, some will make it and many won't. I wonder if this year will be good to me, or if I'll have to attempt the PCT again another year. It was great to chat with Ramblin' Man this evening. He isn't sure how far he's going this year, but he's out to hike and have fun. I miss Kelly already, but the trails await, and I hope that the magic of a thru hike happens again this year. The time change has me messed up, as the clock says 11:00 PM but last night the same time was 9:00 PM. I'm off to bed and won't see the trail until 9:00 or so. There are more people here this year, and most of them are from 20 or so miles up the trail. It's interesting as Neels Gap is only 30-40 miles away. I need to be careful not to seem too arrogant about things like "heavy rain" when green hikers talk about thunderstorms. Oneupmanship isn't worth it. I hate hostels, as no one keeps to hiking schedules. Oh well, I'll be hiking tomorrow!