morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2012-08-12
From: Gorham NH

To: View Entry
Miles today: 0.0

I'm up at 6:00 am, shower, and I'm all packed ready to hit the trail. I head for McDonald's for coffee and a breakfast sandwich while Minutia sleeps.   We enjoyed ourselves and ate a ton of food at the Chinese Buffet last night.   I kid you not, he had 10 plates and I had 4.   Now keep in mind, Minutia had not eaten all day, so it took 10 plates to satisfy him! When I get back to the motel, Minutia is up. We discuss the day and the weather report and decide to zero again. Really bummed out!The sky is full of angry looking clouds. The weather man says it will clear up around noon then showers in the afternoon.Now I know some will think we are getting to be such weenies. However, it's no fun hiking/climbing in the rain with fogged up bifocals and slippery roots and rocks under foot. At my age and capabilities, you try to avoid them as much as possible. Once on the trail, you have no choice but to deal with these things the best you can. We had lunch at Kentucky Fried Chicken. Upon our return, Minutia takes a nap and I play around with the hiking schedule again. I'm a consummate planner. Besides, if I take a nap during the day, I'll have trouble sleeping at night.It rained a little this morning and some this afternoon, just as the weatherman predicted. I've talked to Haunani several times today. I can tell she is enjoying having Kekoa home for a while. She reminded me that I don't have to call her before 8 am on a Sunday morning (woke her up) just to tell her I'm not going back to the trail. Oooops! I was just so bummed and wanted some sympathy that I didn't realize how early it was...and that it was Sunday. Guess I getting "cave fever" like Hawkeye. Tomorrow is supposed to be partly cloudy, but no rain. We are definitely hiking tomorrow!!!
Date: 2012-08-13
From: AMC Pinkham Notch Vistor Center (NH 16), MP 1862.3

To: Camp Site, MP 1867.8, NH
Miles today: 5.5

Not sure what's going on with me mentally and physically.   I walked down to McDonald's for coffee and a breakfast sandwich. On the way there, I noted my lower back is sore, as are my knees and ankles. This could be from a bad bed. Maybe my body is no longer numb from the physical exertion and has started the healing process? Also, my mental attitude is kind of neutral about hiking. That's to say, I'm indifferent.   Maybe this is from being in town too long or maybe it's just anxiety from anticipating the up coming rigors of the trail?   At any rate, we are hiking/climbing today, come hell or high water! Bruce, the shuttle driver picked us up at 9 am.   He's a super nice guy and is 78 years old.   He was career Army and got out on an E7. He also was in the Army Security Agency (ASA), which was the outfit I was in so long ago.We said goodbye to Bruce at the Pinkham Notch Visitor Center and headed up Wildcat Mountain. Right off the bat, we miss a turn and hike/climb 0.5 miles to an overlook. This cost us 45 minutes to an hour till we climbed back and got back on the AT. Wildcat has several peaks. All are lettered A, C, D, and E. Don't ask me about B, I don't know where it is. All I do know is I didn't climb over it. The climb up to Wildcat Peak E, El 4,044 was 2000 feet up of hand over hand, then down a little and up to Wildcat Peak D, El 3,967 were there is a gondola (round trip $12).A little further, there is a new wooden observation tower.   We headed down what we thought was the AT for about 0.2 mile but didn't see any white blazes! So turned around and went back to the tower. We checked our maps and looked around for signage but didn't see anything. So back down the trail we go and just pray we were right the first time. The AT trail is really poorly white blazed in NH. I wonder who is responsible, the AMC or the National Park Service?! We descend 300 feet, then climb Wildcat Peak C, El 4,268, another grueling climb. After another descent, we climb Wildcat Peak A, El 4,422. Finally, we have an almost straight down descent (1,007 feet) from Wildcat Peak A to El 3,415.At the trail junction, about 0.3 mile south of Carter Notch Hut, we make camp.   It has taken us ALL day to go from Pinkham Notch, MP 1862.3 to our camp site at MP 1867.8, a distance of ONLY 5.5 miles.The ups were tough but the downs were just brutal. I feel totally wrecked and this is after 3 days of rest!! I am taking some vitamin I tonight for the first time. My knees and ankles are sore.
Date: 2012-02-01
To: Off the couch
Miles today: 0.0

My first trail journal entry!! How exciting! In my personal trail prep, I have looked long and hard for journals that detail parts of long distance hiking that few talk about like finances and body odor, so I am going to try to provide that here...I work for a private non profit in Baltimore City. I have been with the company for about 3 years. So I intend to request a leave of absence from work 6 weeks prior to take off. If the leave of absence is denied, I will then submit my 4 weeks notice of resignation. I'm not sure I care either way. It would be nice to have some security when I come off of the trail, but it's certainly not a deal breaker. I have been working to pay off my debts for the past year and half so that I can be free of any financial ties while I am in the woods. I finally paid off my car last months (YIPPEE!!) and paid off my credit card. I will still need to make payments on my student loans while I am gone, but I explained my situation to the loan company and they have approved me for a forebearance, which brings my payments down to about $30 a month (probably less than the monthly interest, but whatever). I've thought about car insurance a lot. I've been told that it's extremely expensive to get car insurance once you have gone some time without so I have been weary to cancel it entirely. My payments are about $80 a month. Thank Lordisa, my sister has agreed to "rent" my car while I am gone since it gets exceptional gas mileage (go Toyota!) and she has a long commute. Her "rent" will be the cost of my car insurance. Perfect. Then there's my living space... my wonderful boyfriend will be staying in our apartment alone while I am gone and paying the entire rent, utility and cable bills. This is WONDERFUL since I love my apartment and did not want to have to give it up. He will also be taking care of my dog Mackie, since his precious little cockapoo paws simply CANNOT handle a thru hike (even though he thinks he can). Hopefully, he will be bringing him out to meet me when possible. Physically, I don't know if I am ready for a thru. I work out a lot, but I think I am going to focus on starting slow- no more than 12 miles a day for the first few weeks until my body is ready for more. I am adding an additional hurdle for my body since I have resigned myself to the land of organic living. I'm not looking forward to eating food from Walmart and gas stations, but I know this is something I will have to do. I am planning on consuming roughly 4,000 calories a day. I plan to eat whole rolled oats, peanut butter, tortillas, nuts, dried fruit, couscous, quinoa and protein powder. That about covers my planning up to date. I will be updating my gear list as I can afford to (buy stock in REI...) and will keep everyone abreast of the planning.
Date: 2012-02-07
To: Leave of Absence??
Miles today: 0.0

My leave of absence from work was approved today! It feels weird for everyone to suddenly know about the AT. It has been my secret for so long. I have mixed feelings about doing the leave instead of quitting. I have developed expectations that the trail will some how change my life and I don't know how I can just go back to doing the same old thing. I guess I need to focus on being grateful that I will have a stable income when I return, since it's difficult to find work at all these days.After the approval, I got to finally tell my coworkers. It's absolutely amazing how little some people know about hiking. Someone asked me how I will know how to get to Maine and is it mostly highways. Another person said, "Well there shouldn't be too many animals since most of them are in zoos now". Everyone, and I mean everyone, had suggestions- what food to eat, how to raise money, how to protect myself. But I did enjoy their questions and loved talking about the AT all day. They all had positive things to say, which was really nice. I did make an REI trip this weekend, picked up a few things. I got kid's hiking poles since I'm short. The guy working at the store tried to convince me that adults can't use kid poles. His arguments were the length and the durability, but they're my height and a good brand. And doesn't he know, when I break them, I'll just return them and get my money back?!? I got new pants, they're super light weight and comfy. The bottoms zipper off for capris and they have a draw string in case I drop a size or two. I also got a jacket/ sweatshirt thing since I'm only going to wear a light coat. I got a Z-Lite sleeping pad, again to the disdain of the aforementioned, know-it-all REI employee. He was pretty loyal to the big agnes. I'm just not interested in an inflatable, and like I said, I'm short so I can cut the z-lite almost in half to reduce my weight.I *think* I'm where I should be with planning. I really need to make a decision about shoes. I HATE boots, had a terrible, terrible experience with them (RIP toenails) and never want to wear them again. I don't understand how trail runners are much different than sneakers?? Are they just more expensive? So I'm thinking of investing in some awesome soles and just buying crap sneakers that I'll replace a few times at a big box store along the way. I also don't have a pack yet, but I know what I like and dislike and once I have everything else I need, I'll be bringing it all into REI to see how it packs.Well that's it I think, I've been scatter brained all day from trail talk. This has certainly helped- makes me feel like I'm not so far behind to list what I have actually done.
Date: 2012-02-25
To: Broke...
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: overcast clouds

I made some major purchases today. I finally bought a pack. I had gone to REI last week to try them all out with my gear, but I had to wait for my paycheck to buy the one that I wanted. I LOVE my pack. It happens to be a female version of Nick's pack so that's weird. I also got trail runners. They're extremely comfy, but they look awful. They are in real life, bright purple with yellow tread, and by tread I mean spikes. Like cleats. These shoes mean business. We pulled up reviews at the store and they seemed like the best option. Time will tell... Oh! I also weighed my pack with all of my stuff in it, except for water, and it weighs...19 POUNDS!Best news ever! I had no idea I would be packing so light.I sprayed my jacket, tent, sleeping bag, pants (almost all my stuff really) with waterproofing spray. I regretably purchased it at Walmart, but it was pretty cheap and works really well. I poured a cup of water on my pants and it rolled straight off with little droplets beading up that I flicked off. So hopefully I will stay dry. Tonight I am alone in the house, so I put on all my hiking clothes and celebrated (you know, dancing, clapping... normal people stuff). I looked at myself in the mirror for a long time and visualized myself on the trail. It was a really good feeling. I am exactly where I want to be. Three more weeks until I redefine walking distance.
Date: 2012-03-03
To: An Alcohol Stove Breakfast- Mmm Mmmm!
Miles today: 0.0

Two weeks remaining! I'm starting to get anxious. I've been planning for so long, but there is still so much to do! I still need to buy shoees and a water filter. The filter should be an easy decision, there are only a few options at REI and I can easily read reviews. But shoes are such a pain! I have now been through four pairs that have all been extremely painful. The last pair I posted about, the purple ones with yellow spikes, rubbed the sides of my foot into a blister after only 2 miles. From there, I went to a running store and bought the only pair of shoes close to my size. I walked 2 miles with them and my foot is still sore two days later. So I currently have 3 shoe boxes that need to be returned, totaling $300. Ugh. The plan is to call specialty stores and ask about trail runners in my size. If that doesn't work out I think I'm going to hike in sneakers. I'm just worried about wearing down the soles too quickly and debris getting in my shoe and causing blisters. But gaitors and silk sock liners should prevent that.This morning I'm cooking up some oatmeal with my alcohol stove. Fun stuff! I bought an alcohol canister that MSR makes, but the child safety lock has managed to keep me from opening it, so I'll need to get a new lid (assuming Nick can get this old lid off). I googled it thinking other people would know how to open it, but it seems that no one has ever been able to open it! Good thing I tested it! We have reserved hotel rooms in Dahlongra for the night before we start hiking. The plan is for Des, Matt and my Dad to drive to Maryland on the evening of the 16th and to drive with Nick and I to Georgia the morning of the 17th. We should get there somewhere around dinner time. Just in time for some southern cooking. I *require* fried chicken, greens and baked mac and cheese. We are staying at a B&B called the Smith House. Its in town, so we will be right in the middle of the trail day festivisties, on St. Patrick's Day. The whole thing could not have worked out more perfectly! We can have our Guiness and Jameson with Bluegrass music, surrounded by hikers. I'm hoping the festival will give Nick a glipse of the trail community that my family has come to love.My Dad is going to hike the first 5 weeks with me, which really takes a lot of stress off of me, I won't need to worry about safety as much for a while. This also allows me to only plan 5 weeks of stuff before Des and Nick can bring me more, when they pick him up. I'm hoping they can take me to a washing machine and a real bed for that night as well. So, I'm getting there. Still a lot that needs to be done, but I have far more things crossed off my to-do list than not. Yay.
Date: 2012-03-10
To: Packing
Miles today: 0.0

Wow, one week away. I just spent three hours cramming a bunch of crap into my pack, which used to weigh 19 pounds. Now it feel like a bag of bricks... hmm. I bought a water filter, I got the playtpus gravity thing, but I'm thinking its way big. It holds 4 liters. I have about 3 in it now and am realizing that's a lot. But, the way I positioned in my bag is awesome. Its the closest thing to my back in an elastic pouchy thing and I fed the tube through to the straps with a camelback bite thing on it. I will never need to take it out, I can just attach the filter and the dirty water bag with it still in my pack AND I can pull off the camelback bite thingy and pour water into my cooking pot with ease. Between that whole get up, counting how many tampons I will need and how many baby wipes I get per week I am beginning to think I'm losing it. And I have no life. I've also been laughing at myself all day, this whole idea is so insane and I love it. Typical Allison behavior here...I did decide on shoes, thank Lordisa. I went to another specialty running store, tried on about 15 pairs of trail runners and bought sneakers. They said I have wide feet and low arches so that's why I've been struggling. I'm feeling really good about the shoe thing since that was a major stressor.I also was able to return all the other shoes I bought.Other than that I have only small things to take care of in the next week. I need to clean out my car for Des, sharpen my knife, get music on my ipod and get a new headlamp. (There was a minor battery expolsion inside my old one.)I think thats it. Wow. This is really happening.
Date: 2012-03-17
To: Ready or Not
Miles today: 0.0

This will be my last "preparation" entry! Last night, Des, Dad, Nick, Matthew and I drove down to Georgia. We left Baltimore at 11:00 and drove through the night. We made it here in less than 12 hours with about 45 bathroom breaks. We drove along the Appalachians and saw the trail a few times. In true form, we had a few weird experiences. We found a wounded owl on the side of the road, wandered into a leprechaun pancake breakfast and interrupted a Hardy's parking lot hook up. Arriving at this bed and breakfast was a breath of fresh air!! The rooms are spectacular and there is a giant porch with rocking chairs. We spent some time walking around trail days and playing with the cutest puppies. I miss Mackie already. My Dad and I have packed and repacked and repacked again. The weathers been a little rainy but warm so it should make for good conditions. We'll do the Approach Trail in the morning and camp out about a mile down the AT. I'm not as excited as I thought I would be. Its going to be challenging to leave everyone behind and I'm awful at goodbyes.Well I must go and try to get Des to stop sucking her thumb and head down for our final meal- a buffet! With fried chicken! I'll try to post from Springer tomorrow.
Date: 2012-03-18
From: Amicalola Falls

To: Springer
Miles today: 2.0
Weather: scattered clouds

First day on the trail! We started at the approach trail just as the sun was rising. We signed in at the registry and posed for pictures under the archway. A weekend hiker told us there were 600 steps up the Falls and there sure were! And. That was just the beginning of the approach! I think understand why people skip it! We met some interesting people, a man named Nacho Son, who was on his second thrue hike. We met a hiker who calls himself Meandering Snail. Dad still can't figure out how to ptonounce meandering. He simply hiking as far as he can until October. When I got to the top of Springer, the ridge runner was there waiting for me. He gave me a book of matches that I need to bring all the way to Maine. He said to give them to the ridge runner at Baxter State Park and I will get a present! Dad has decided that his trail name will be DO IT! Since people always talk about things and never do them. No trail name for me yet, waiting for the trail to name me. We hiked 2 miles on the AT after the 8 mile approach so it was a long day. We camped next to a creek that was deep enough for DO IT! To bathe in. I soaked my feet and washed my hands and face. We had rice with TVP for dinner. I had no cell phone service at night so I was a little bummed I couldn't call Nick and Des. But it was a good day.
Date: 2012-03-19
From: Springer

To: Sassafras Mountain
Miles today: 10.0

I woke up this morning and came to a terrible realization. I was going to have to crouching tiger in the woods. I did it, like a champ!! Oatmeal and coffee for breakfast and we were off. I got some serious speed at first. The forrest floor was moist and green. I was next to a river all morning. There were huge conifers and a pine needle floor. I even went off trail a ways to wash up in a waterfall. I got cell service and we made some calls home. Our goal was 12 mi for the day but we started to get dangerouy low on water. After the lush, moist section, there was nothing but PUDs (pointless up and downs). I was sitting down, refusing to go any farther while dad insisted I keep walking when something amazing happened! A car pulled up, rolled down the window and asked if we needed some water. It was a trail keeper from the area so I guess he knew it was a dry section. He cautioned us to keep our mileage low until we get our hiker legs to avoid injury. A woman in the car with him was working with Peace Pilgrims, she ggave us hugs and some lollipops. Full of sugar and water, we climber Sassafras Mountain, the hardest section in GA. We camped at the top and listened to gunshots into the evening as the Rangers were training. I had a beautiful view of the sunset but fell asleep too early to watch it.
Date: 2012-03-20
From: Sassafras Mountain

To: Woody Gap
Miles today: 10.0
Weather: broken clouds

I must have slept 12 hours last night! I had the perfect view of the sunset, but fell asleep before it went down. The ranger school was firing off rounds well into the night and I saw a drone fly up over the mountain and dip back down. We had to have chuncks of bread for breakfast since we were so low on water. DO IT's rye bread is starting to be really gross. In just a few miles we came to a stream where I was able to wash up and filter some drinking water. DO IT took another stream bath, he claims to be the cleanest hiker. We've been seeing these little white flowers everywhere, the only sign of spring. They close up at night and open when the sun is high in the sky. I saw one mid day, witha stick holding it down and its petals were closed. I pulled the stick off and it slowly rose up to face the sun and the petals slowly opened. It was one of those rare, special moments on the trail. Around noon, I walked intoa clearing and a man next to an SUV asked if I was a thru hiker. When I said that I was, he asked if I'd like some snacks or a drink. He even had beer!! I resisted the beer but did have a coke and a cupcake. His wife is Scribbles, who thru hiked last year so he likes to do a lot of magic. Thank you Mr. Scribbles! That sugar took me far! I got to the next gap and met the Dixie Wanderer who had so many nice things to say. He said I would make it to Maine for sure at this rate and gave us some Gatorade that we shared with other thru hikers. We got some water and hiked up to camp on the mountain. Problem was, DO IT filtered my water and gave me 4 liters!! That's 9 pounds! My pack was huge, I could hardly pick it up! Then DO IT darts u the hill and leaves me hanging. Typical DO IT behavior. We camped at the most beautiful place, way up above lots of rolling mountains.
Date: 2012-03-21
From: Woody Gap

To: Neels Gap
Miles today: 10.0
Weather: scattered clouds

An easy 10 today! With amazing views!! I had a rough night's sleep last night. There were deer about 10 ft from my tent all night. In the morning, it was lightly raining and visibility was low. A deer led me down the trail, I followed her white tail for about half a mile, until I got between her and her bab and she made a grunting sound at me, so I backed up and let them regroup. I had Neels Gap on my mind all day, too much really. I ate just one cliff bar and had less then a liter of water. Dumb I know. I'm feeling it now, I was dizzy when I got here and starving. My left foot feels really awful. It was crampy all day and now I can feel this creaky feeling when it moves. I met a thru hiker named Gooch was slacking SOBO for the day to check on other thru hikers since he's a nurse. He gave me some good blister tips. He went to shake my hand and I told him I was awful sweaty and he said that should be my trail name, no thanks! Also met a woman named Red Hat who looked like the happiest person I've ever seen. It was a really good day on the trail. We got to Neels Gap around 2:00 and stocked up on food to bring to the cabin we reserved. It was about a 5 minute walk from the Gap. I took a hot shower immediately, it felt so good. DO IT bought approximately 60 post cards to send to everyone, even his bank! And then he yelled at me for taking some. Going to sleep in a bed tonight!!! And brew coffee in the morning. I planned on about 6 miles tomorrow, but I need to talk to someone the the Gap about my foot.