morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2006-01-08
To: schedules and mail drops
Miles today: 0.0

I¢ve been trying to work out my hiking schedule. First, I was very conservative in my mileage, took a long weekend at my brothers house in NJ. and another long weekend at my sisters house in NY and then a 4 day weekend at my other sisters house in NH when I have to go to her daughters wedding, well, that schedule had me arrive at Katahdin on Oct 15th!! Not a good idea. So I¢ve re-worked the schedule, and now I arrive on the first day of Rosh HaShanna, also not a good plan. I know this is all just a guestimate, but I have to plan my mail drops , which I have posted, there are a few places on the trail where my husband will be meeting up with me and will bring my ¢mail drops¢ but otherwise I think I have it planned. There are some days when I will have 10 days worth of food, but it¢s still pretty lightweight as it¢s all dehydrated.Speaking of which, I think I have enough meals made already, I can¢t believe I¢ve cooked and dehydrated that much stuff in just one month¢s time. I had to go and buy a small chest freezer for everything! And, I¢m at the point that I¢m making desserts for myself! I ordered some food from Taste of Adventure on Dec 18th, I still haven¢t gotten it yet, so I called and they were so apologetic about what happened saying they try really hard to keep their customer satisfaction very high and it was a series of unfortunate events that my order never got sent out, so they are crediting me almost half the cost of the order! I had bought some of their foods at Whole Foods and they were very good, when I checked online I found you could order it directly form Taste of Adventure and it was half the price, so some of my dinners are coming from there.Tomorrow I have an appointment to get my eyes checked, and get new contacts but I think I will also get a pair of glasses ¢ bifocals YUCK, but this way I will only have to carry one pair of glasses, and I¢ll get the lenses that change into sunglasses. I have mono vision and wear just one contact lens, the good thing about the brand I have is I leave it in for 30 days and then just throw it out and put in a new one, so I don¢t have to carry any lens solution. I also got a new cell phone the other day, smaller, lighter than the one I had and the charger is much smaller as well. Yes, I will bring the cell phone; my husband really wants me to have it.The weather here is still very weird, its been up to 81*. A few mornings when I¢ve gone out to run with Marianne, its been in the lower 40¢s, but mostly its very warm to hot out. I¢m doing about 40 min on the stair stepper on the days I only run 3 miles- I watch an episode of Star Trek Enterprise on DVD while I¢m on the stair stepper. It makes the time just fly by! I need to increase the weight in my backpack from 25 to 35 lbs. though.Well, just 69 days to go, I¢ve marked the countdown on the kitchen calendar! Oh. I also found a pillow today! its one of those with the tiny beads in them, but its just the right size, and weighs just over 1 oz, its hot pink and the shape of a butterfly! (it only cost $1.00 so if it doesn't work out no big loss!)
Date: 2006-02-23
To: 24 Days to go
Miles today: 0.0

2/23/0624 Days to go¢¦¢¦.Today was my last day working at the Houston Ballet. Swan Lake opens tonight. Unfortunately I couldn¢t get good seats for tonight¢s production, so I won¢t be there for the opening night. I do have great orchestra seats for the closing weekend though I can¢t wait to see all the costumes that we created on stage. There were lots of tears (mine) as I said goodbye to everyone (except we are having a staff party tomorrow night)So now, I can devote the next 3 weeks to getting my house in order. I have already received trail magic and I haven¢t even hit the trail yet. Swan (2004) sent me some (small) goodies to take on the trail ¢ Thank you Swan! Its your ballet I worked on!I have defiantly decided to use a bounce box ¢ a box of my ¢stuff¢ that I will mail ahead to myself from town to town, that way I won¢t have to carry everything ¢ such as the battery charger for my camera, cell phone, my razor, a large tube of sun screen ¢ I¢ll carry just a small container and refill it. I wasn¢t going to use a bounce box at first, but now the thought of the extra luxuries I can take! I¢ll put in some town clothes as well.
Date: 2006-03-19
To: The Start.......an editorial by Marc
Miles today: 0.0

Editorial Update: This is an update from Heartfire's Heartthrob (Marc). We spent a few wonderful days at our house in Asheville with Jeffrey(son). He got to see the house and Asheville for the first time and learned why we love the area so much. On Saturday, we drove to Amicalola State Park and stayed overnight at the Lodge. The Lodge is perched on the top of the mountain and falls and has a great view of the surrounding area. Sorry to all those who called us to wish Heartfire the best that day because the cell phone coverage in that area was limited. The word that comes to mind to summarize that day and evening was "apprehension". Heartfire repeatedly asked the question "Now can you remind me - why am I doing this?" We answered it many different ways from "you are the best one to answer that" to ignoring her to "you're going to Maine and we not paying for a plane ticket so get out and walk". We got up Sunday morning and ate breakfast at the restaurant at the Lodge. We drove down to the Visitor's Center to weigh the pack (37 pounds with everything), sign in on the register, and take pictures at the arch and plaque. The Visitor's Center wasn't open so she signed the after-hours register and was disappointed that she didn't get a number. We met several other thru hikers including Todd and Erin. We will look forward to following them on TrailJournals too. We then drove to Springer Mountain taking the Roy Rd., Double Gap, Forest Rd. 42 route. We arrived at the parking area at about 9:15 AM. It was cloudy and the temperature was about 45 F. Ideal climbing weather. We climbed the 0.9 miles to the top of Springer not realizing that this would also be the same route we would take to start the trail so Heartfire was disappointed that she missed out on her first slack pack opportunity (we could have left the pack at the car). We met veteran hiker Many Sleeps on the top of Springer and he logged Heartfire's trail name, age group, and home state. He gave her a few pointers and a pack of matches that she can turn in at Neel's Gap for a Leave No Trace Bandana. We took the obligatory pictures, touched the first white blaze, and Many Sleeps told Heartfire she was thru hiker number 337 by his count. Todd and Erin's family arrived and we talked with them a little more. At about 10:00 AM, we left to head back down to the parking lot. We almost forgot to pick up a small rock to take to Maine but Jeff remembered and Heartfire got one about 10 yards off the top. On the way down we decided to have a little pool on what date Heartfire will summit Katahdin. So get your guesses in. All entries must be in by the time she reaches Harper's Ferry. We said a quick goodbye to limit the noise from the plucking of heart strings and Heartfire disappeared into the woods. On the way to the Atlanta Airport, Jeff and I talked a lot about how proud we were of her and how confident we are of her abilities. We also chuckled a little when it started sprinkling on the windshield mostly because we knew she could handle this and a lot worse. Marc
Date: 2006-03-19
From: Springer

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

I¢m finally here-it¢s so funny though. Last night I was ready to back out! ¢Why am I doing this?¢ ¢Why do I want to leave family and home and go out in the middle of nowhere?¢ I guess it was just all those things that go bump in the night-I was fine this morning!We (Marc, Jeff and I) spent last night at the lodge in Amicolola Falls State Park. What a wonderful setting. I saw several Pileated woodpeckers this morning. Marc and Jeff drove me to the trailhead and hiked the 0.9 miles from the parking lot to Springer Summit with me. Then at 1000 am we headed back along the way we came and I dropped them off at the car. We said our goodbyes, I didn¢t say too much because the tears would have started to flow-then I headed off into the wild blue yonder.I stopped for a few minutes at Long Creek Falls and made it to Hawk Mountain Shelter by 2:30 pm-not too shabby for this flatlander! Let me tell you that last mountain (Hawk) nearly kicked my ass! But! I passed a guy who was younger than me and never did see him make it to the shelter. He was struggling with a 60# pack!! Oh, my pack was 37# with food and water when I checked in and I was assigned thru-hiker #337.There are about 30 people at the shelter. I¢m in my tent and it¢s 7pm getting dark and chilly. The weather today was really nice-48-55 degrees, overcast-great hiking weather. It¢s supposed to be thunderstorms tomorrow!Oh, I got to the shelter and found that I had lost one of my gloves. But a short time later a guy came into the shelter with it-trail magic on my first day!About the privy! It¢s a privy with a view! They are 3 sided jobs-open away from the trail-I guess it helps keep the odor down!HeartFire
Date: 2006-03-20
From: Hawk Mountain Shelter

To: Gooch Mountain Shelter
Miles today: 7.3
Weather: moderate rain

It sure seemed longer than 7.3 miles! I hit the trail at 0830 this morning and pulled into the shelter about 2pm. The predicted thunderstorm today has only been a light drizzle and the temps while hiking were anywhere from 39 to 44 degrees. It was really great for hiking but now sitting still it¢s cold! I¢m snug in my tent.I ate lunch when I got here, so will see about dinner later-I have way way too much food and will dump a bunch when I get to Neel¢s Gap! That will lighten my load some too.So, let me tell you about the trail-it¢s wonderful! I love the stillness of the trail-even with the ARMY choppers flying overhead several times today. The scenery changes periodically-when you get down closer to the gaps or where there is a river, it gets much greener with lots of rhododendrons, higher up it is still the dead of winter. I did see several white flowers blooming today, several small birds (I have no idea what they were) but it is so quiet-just the wind and the pitter-patter of the rain.I had some trouble sleeping last night. I was on a slight incline (as I am today) and I probably woke up every hour. It started raining about 1:30 am but not very hard. I think the hardest part of this trip will be getting up on cold wet mornings-and having to pack up!Well, the rain started shortly after I wrote the above, its been steady rain for the past 3 hours and doesn¢t look like its going to let up-yuck! And, I accidentally forgot to bring my ground cloth-the tent is dry but it would help.HeartFire
Date: 2006-03-21
From: Gooch Mtn Shelter

To: Blairsville,GA
Miles today: 15.6

I bit off a little more than I planned today but hiked into Neel¢s Gap-only problem was it was closed by the time we got there. We had to hitch a ride into Blairsville where we have a hotel room . I hiked most of the day with a woman named September and we flip flopped with Bravefriend-the 3 of us are sharing the motel room.Last night the rain didn¢t let up until the morning, my tent is a very muddy mess-it is hanging in the shower right now so the tub is now a muddy mess! The hike today was ok-it drizzled a little then quit but it remained foggy-misty all day, some really neat hiking.HeartFire
Date: 2006-03-22
From: Blairsville, GA

To: Blairsville, GA
Miles today: 0.0

I'm sitting here in the laundromat in Blairsville-in my rain gear! It's a beautiful, sunny, clear day-I wish we had weather like this yesterday so we could have seen some views. Let me tell you more about the woods and Blood Mtn. Climbing up Blood was the typical looking woods-oaks, chestnut trees, a few pines, steep hills. Suddenly the terrain would flatten out a little and the trees turned into short (7-8 feet) gnarly white barked things. I don't know what they were but it was such a stark change and looked very "winter-esque", then suddenly it would change back again. The top of the mountain-4461 ft. elevation (and I swear we walked there from sea level!!) was fairly flat-granite balds with rhododendrons and mountain laurels. We saw a bunch of small gray birds at the shelter area, it was quite pretty but very windy and cold. The temps ranged from the low 30's to mid 40's, and at one point we were all in shorts and T-shirts, but it didn't last long! We (September and I) will probably hike about 3 miles today-Bravefriend is having some trouble with his knees and may stay in town for a zero day.
Date: 2006-03-22
From: Blairsville

To: Rock spring Top campsite
Miles today: 2.8
Weather: scattered clouds

Just a short hike today out of Neel¢s Gap. September and I are camped at this ¢unofficial¢ camp site. We are the only ones here-it¢s rather exposed, on a ridge and quite windy. It will get really cold tonight!!!! This morning there was ice on all the mountain tops. We have amazing views -undulating waves of mountains as far as the eye can see and today is a beautiful clear blue sky.I wish we had left Neel¢s Gap a little earlier so we could have found a better campsite but¢¦ we went to the Walasi-Yi outfitters, September wanted them to go through her back to lighten it up so we did mine as well. I got rid of two things that I already knew I didn¢t need, a bowl and a hat. The biggest weight saving thing that I did was to get rid of half my food! I had way way too much so I dumped it back in the hiker box in the hostel. Leaving town with 4 days of food and 2 liters of water I was at 32#- felt great! As of yesterday, I was sore-calves and feet-which have been sore since day one-but today most of the soreness is going away. Well it¢s 7pm, the sun is setting and it¢s starting to get really cold. So, I¢m crawling into my sleeping bag!
Date: 2006-03-23
From: Rock spring Top campsite

To: Blue Mountain shelter
Miles today: 15.0
Weather: broken clouds

Another long day-but first let me tell you ¢the rest of the story¢ from last night. We were camped in this very windy ¢saddle¢ and as soon as we finished eating we crawled into our tents. The wind was whipping through rattling the rain fly on my tent. I was sure I was hearing something else-it made me a bit nervous so I finally poked my head out of the tent and didn¢t see anything except gorgeous stars and the lights from Atlanta twinkling below! It was beautiful but too cold to stay out and admire-so back into my tent. I still heard scurrying noises and finally saw a mouse crawl up the screen door of my tent-at least they can¢t get in! I finally put on my MP3 player with some meditation music and it calmed me down and I finally got some sleep. I¢m not sleeping well on the ground, waking up and trying to find a comfy position all through the night, but I feel plenty rested in the morning. Perhaps it¢s because we¢re in bed almost 12 hours. Ok, today started out sunny, cold and clear, the ground was frozen-frosted a bit. We woke at 630am, broke camp by 730am and stopped at 830am to make breakfast after warming up a bit. Then it got cloudy and overcast. The mornings hike was straight up and down several mountains and I have to say here that I take issue with people calling them ¢PUDs¢-pointless ups and downs. They are the trail and if you don¢t go up you can¢t get the beautiful views we had. The second half of the day was mostly a ??? our walk. The last hour or so it started to snow-it was wonderful hiking in it but as September and I have done before we pulled into the shelter right at 7pm as it was getting dark and we had to set up our tents in the dark and snow.This morning when it was still icy out, there was the neatest ice formation on the ground. I took a picture of it but don¢t know how well it will turn out. The ice would grow like crystals and form multiple strands(like on a hair brush) that were curled up. So far I have seen some violets blooming, bluets and some other white flowers. I saw a lot of wild mint today. Well the snow is coming down harder now-time to crawl into bed.
Date: 2006-03-24
From: Blue Mountain shelter

To: Tray Mtn. Shelter
Miles today: 7.7

Woke up this morning to a winter wonderland. There was about 1/2 inch of snow on the ground. September and I made breakfast and took our time getting started as we only planned 7.7 miles. It was really beautiful hiking in the snow. We had two huge mountains to climb today-Tray Mtn. and Rocky Mtn. each about a 1000 ft. elevation. The sun would peak out of the clouds now and then. At the shelter is Wild Bill, Supersize, Irish, September and I. We are sleeping in the shelter tonight even though I think it would be warmer in the tent-but it's for the experience. There are a bunch of robins hopping around searching for food in the leaves. There is another little bird Irish said they are Juncos-they are a bit smaller than the robins, slate grey with a black head,white beak and white on their tails when they fly. Their bellies are white and pale grey-they hop around on the ground. On top of Tray Mtn. in the midst of all the snow and ice, there is a cherry tree blooming!! The trees here in the shelter are all encased in snow. The privy here is one of the 3 sided ones. A privy with a view! The one at the last shelter at least had a door! Oh, I wore my panty hose today while hiking. They worked really well for extra warmth and support. I cut open the toe and a hole in the heel so they are like stirrup pants. As for my equipment-I mostly just wear my long sleeve T-shirt (polyester) and my precip rain jacket while hiking. I'm generally toasty warm at night in my sleeping bag and liner with my smart wool long johns on. I'm not sure I've taken my hat off for more than a few minutes! Often I wear the balaclava and hat together. Oh, I've lost one of my glove liners (again) and my rain pants so, first chance I get I need to buy new ones. I also want to get a new pad-my z-ridge is just not cushy enough-my hips hurt from sleeping on my side and last night it just wasn't enough insulation. And I am really glad I have my down jacket! Oh! I forgot-we saw a black bear cub today near Unicoi(?)Gap. He followed a group out of Burnt Mtn. shelter all the way to the road. I got a few pictures of it but not sure how they will turn out.
Date: 2006-03-25
To: Hiawassi
Miles today: 0.0

Hi, I'm in Hiawassi right now, Marianne my transcriber should have my first few entries up in the next day or so,(if she can read my handwriting,) but so far so good, I've hooked up with a woman named September, we've been hiking together for the past few days, all is well, I feel great, getting stronger on the uphills (and boy are they UP!) We've had rain, snow and ice. I saw a small bear, a rabit and lots of birds, a few flowers and a cherry tree blooming on top of a mountain!HeartFire
Date: 2006-03-25
From: Tray Mtn. Shelter

To: Holiday Inn Express Hiawassi, GA
Miles today: 10.6

It wasn¢t so bad sleeping in the shelter even with all the snoring going on in tandem on both sides of me! Wild Bill and September! Temps must have been in the mid 20¢s. I woke up to a frozen platypus water bottle-2 12 liters of ice! We packed up and moved out of the shelter by 730am and stopped at 830 am when we came across Bailey and friends. Bailey is a great dog and the ¢friends¢ are the two guys she¢s with-Arm Sleeve and Crazy. Brave friend had also camped with them last night. They had a nice fire going so we stopped to make breakfast.Hiking today was again up and down. Kelly¢s Knob was sort of like the ¢never ending story¢, it seemed to be never ending mountains and near the summit we entered what seemed to be a crystal forest. It was so breathtaking! Temps ranged from close to freezing all day and we had a few snow flurries. It is also very dramatic how the north side of the mountains were encased in snow and ice and the skies cloudy, the south side was warm and sunny. Tomorrow we are headed for North Carolina!
Date: 2006-03-26
From: Holiday Inn Express Hiawassi, GA

To: Muscrat Creek Shelter
Miles today: 11.6
Weather: scattered clouds

The gods all smiled down on us today. The weather couldn't have been better. Blue skies with a few puffy cotton ball clouds. The temps ranged from the 30's to the 50's but mostly in the 40's while hiking-but then again it depends if you are on the north side or south side of the mountain. We left Hiawassi this morning and started hiking at 930 am. Georgia gave us a few more big mountains to climb before she spit us out into North Carolina. I might have walked right past the state line sign had another group not been there taking pictures-it is VERY inconspicuous. Well, NC had a few welcoming gifts for us! The climb over Courthouse Mtn. was the first time my very civil tongue let loose with all sorts of uncivil words! Not only was it a very steep climb, but we were crunching our way through 2" of snow and 2" of mud!! But never the less September and I pulled into the shelter just after 6pm-we were the last ones here. There are about 15 people here. Several which started on the 19th like me, many that started 2 or 3 days before me and one guy that started 3/21! The trail this morning was very crowded as everyone that stayed in Hiawassi seemed to have gotten to the trailhead at the same time-it wasn't until several hours later that I actually felt alone in the woods. It was such a glorious day! I saw a few chickadees in the trees, and some other birds who kept calling and cheering me on as I hiked up a big hill. There were more violets blooming and lots of bluets decorating the path. I saw more mint and another herb that looked like purple basil but smelled lemon y-I don't know if there is a lemon basil! We had a big fire going at the shelter-it was nice sitting around with a group of people telling stupid stories! The thermometer inside my tent read 28 degrees! Another really cold night,I hope my water doesn't freeze again. I'll probably wrap my down jacket around it!
Date: 2006-03-27
From: Muscrat Creek Shelter

To: Carter Gap Shelter
Miles today: 12.5
Weather: clear sky

I was cold sleeping last night, my tent was one big leafy bed. I think it must have been very wet(read frozen!)under the leaves and there was more air circulation so the ground was colder. Lesson #7-don't put your tent on frozen wet leaves...... Anyway, we had a great fire at the shelter last night. Woke up this morning to frozen ground, frost on everything but again it was a beautiful day with a blue sky. We hiked 12.5 miles but it seemed like a lot more. There weren't really any bad climbs today and a lot of it was fairly level but my poor little puppies are so sore from the walk. I know that they will feel better in the morning-but we have another 12 miles to do tomorrow. There was a log bridge to cross a creek with a drop of about 3 feet. I dropped one of my poles in the water but at least I didn't fall in! Today's hike was again through a lot of snow or mud and then we were walking over these masses of horrible knobby roots! I passed this huge oak tree that reminded me of the (apple) tree on the Wizard of Oz. It had massive arms outstretched to hug you! Anyway, I'm sleeping in the shelter here. There are 4 women and 2 guys. Slap Happy who thru-hiked last year and is now doing a section hike. There are also 2 hunting dogs hanging around that seem to be lost. Slap Happy got the phone number from the tags and will call when she gets home tomorrow. Oh, also about the bear cub we saw. Seems that everyone has been seeing it and it is begging food at the shelter. I didn't get a good look at it but others said it was way too skinny. So someone called the ranger and they were going to come out and capture it today since it seems to be orphaned. They will raise it for awhile and then release it back into the wild (or so I've been told).