morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2018-03-28
From: Beech Gap tenting area

To: Betty Creek Trail Campsite
Miles today: 6.9

Trying to time my arrival at Winding Stairs Gap to match Ann¢s, this was a planned short mileage day. I¢ll start earlier tomorrow - hopefully without rain so that I¢ll have a great view from the fire tower on Albert Mountain. I left camp at about 10 a.m. with initial goal of reaching the next shelter about 3.6 miles up the trail. Despite the departure time, I was one of the first on the trail from our temporary city of five tents and one hammock. For once, I didn¢t get passed by everybody as the day wore on. I reached the shelter in a timely fashion and had it to myself while I cooked and ate lunch. I also took time to clean up a little and change clothes. I¢m still smelling pretty bad.I left the shelter as Snorts and Splash arrived. They were among the folks at Beech Gap last night and were taking the day¢s miles easy, too. On the way to Betty Creek, I was passed by a young woman named Shotgun (Andrea). Shotgun thru hiked the trail in 2016 and is back for a month with three of her friends to ¢share the trail that changed my life¢. Having spent the last year or so working and hiking in Colorado, she says she finds the AT much easier now than in 2016.The campsites at Betty Creek Gap leave a bit to be desired. None are level and all are pretty small. After wandering all over, I ended upon the first site I saw. Snorts and Splash arrived an hour later and have set up camp further down the side trail toward the creek. There are about a dozen folks here tonight.Looking forward to a longer mileage day tomorrow...
Date: 2018-03-31
From: Cashiers, NC

To: Cashiers, NC
Miles today: 0.0

For those who read a lot of these journals, there¢s no reason to read today¢s unless you want to quibble over my definitions.AYCE: All you can eat, the preferred meal of the hungry hikerBlue-blazer: A hiker who chooses the easier alternative trail over following the true trail. A variant can be somebody who chooses to use a waterway to skip part of the trail.Yellow-blazer: A hiker who skips large sections of the trail by automobile (referring to the yellow dashes between lanes on the road.)  This happened a lot in the book and movie, A Walk in the Woods.Hike your own hike: There are many opinions on the ¢proper¢ way to hike the trail. Choose yours.Zero: To take a zero-mileage day, as in ¢I zeroed in Franklin.¢Near-o: A short mileage day, usually entering or leaving a town.Slack pack: Some hostels, etc. offer to drop you off at a given trail access point and pick you up later the same day at another crossing some distance ahead. This allows the hiker to avoid carrying a heavy pack. Instead, they only carry water and food/clothing necessary for the day.I¢ll add more as I think of them.
Date: 2018-04-01
From: Winding Stair Gap

To: Campsite at intersection with Bartram Trail
Miles today: 8.0

Thinking that I wouldn¢t get back on the trail until well after lunch, I had planned a 3.2 mile near-o for today. As it turned out, however, Ann had me back at Winding Stair Gap before 11 am, already fed and churched. Missy, Claude and we attended a multi-denominational community sunrise service in celebration of Easter at 7:00, so we got off to an early start on the day.After a few hugs goodbye, I hit the trail,following the white blazes east along Hwy. 64 and then crossing the road and into the woods. Several other hikers were arriving and/or leaving as I headed out. WSG is a major jumping off point for a town day and most of us take advantage of the opportunity.With the early start, I decided to push through to a more distant campsite so that I could complete the planned four-day hike to the Nantahala Outdoor Center (NOC) in three days. The hike went well with almost three days of town food onboard to provide added energy. Of course, with me having taken two full days off, most of the ¢bubble¢ of friends and acquaintances I met had moved ahead of me.  I arrived at my destination at about 5 p.m., set up camp and tucked in for the night with very little interaction with the other folks. I did have great success hanging my food bag using my new rope. Yay! So far, I have had to leave two pieces of rope hanging in trees because they got irretrievably stuck for one reason or another. Nice to have some success!
Date: 2018-04-02
From: Campsite at intersection with Bartram Trail

To: Big Branch campsite
Miles today: 9.9

Continuing my quest to finish this section in three days, I got a fairly early start, beating all but two hikers out of camp this morning. The day was typical, a lot of alone time with a few interactions as I passed or was passed by other hikers. The trail was downhill overall, but that doesn¢t mean it was easy. Downhills are exceedingly tough on the knees and hips. Uphills are mostly just tough on the lungs still.  I met Boo-rah! (the exclamation point is absolutely necessary to convey how he introduces himself) today. He is slackpacking from Burningtown Gap southward to Winding Stair Gap, about 14.6 miles. It¢s amazing what you can do when you don¢t have an extra 35 pounds on your back. :)I again tented with a bunch of folks I didn¢t know - Skybird, Worm and a couple of other guys. Skybird is section hiking for a little over a week. Over the last ten years, he has completed all but about 150 miles in the south of the trail and 250 miles in the north. Talk about tenacity! All the other guys are thru-hiking, a bunch of eighteen and nineteen year olds.
Date: 2018-04-03
From: Big Branch campsite

To: Nantahala Outdoor Center
Miles today: 9.6

I¢ve been keeping a good news/bad news secret from you.While Ann and I were together last weekend, we received an offer to purchase our home, which has been on the market since November. Fortunately - providentially - we were together and had good WiFi so that we could easily negotiate our way to a mutually satisfactory price on the sale. Contracts changed hands electronically, were signed and the deal was done. Then I selfishly jumped back on the trail leaving everything in Ann¢s hands.  I have absolute faith that Ann could do all that is needed in order to effect the move.  But...  As I have hiked the last couple of days, I have spent time thinking and praying over what I should do - continue hiking or head home. About midday today, I decided... my priority was to be home helping with the packing and moving. A call to Ann to communicate my decision, slow though I was to recognize my priorities, and I was beating feet the rest of the way to the NOC.  I have to say that I remained true to my commitment not to quit on a bad day.  This has been three consecutive beautiful weather days.  I told Ann that I would rent a car to get home either tonight or tomorrow, depending on how long it would take to get a hitch or shuttle to a town big enough to have a rental agency. She called back a bit later to let me know that our friend, Al, would soon be on his way (3.5 hours!) to pick me up. I reached the NOC in time to eat a ¢snack¢ - half pound cheeseburger and fries - and take a four minute (please deposit 25 cents per minute, like a carwash) shower to knock off the worst of the stink. Because the other five hikers (Boo-rah!, Worm and the other 18-19 year olds) at my table all were continuing on and I was leaving the trail, I bought them a well deserved meal. After all, being off the trail would save me a bunch of money based on my experiences so far! I also was able to see a lot of friends, Snorts among them, and let them know why I was leaving the trail. The NOC certainly is a major meeting point for hikers!  As I sat soaking up the sun after my no-towel-available $1.00 shower, Al drove up. A quick load of my gear and we were gone, stopping at Outback for supper on the way home.I¢m not sure when I¢ll be back on the trail - or on this site. There¢s the closing on the house the first of next month, the wedding in June, Ann¢s mission trip in July, etc. I¢m going to just play it by ear.Thanks, all, for your support, prayers and encouragement. I¢m perfectly fine with my decision - no regrets - and will either section hike or figure out how to complete this hike later this year. We¢ll see!Take care!
Date: 2018-06-26
From: Home

To: Home
Miles today: 0.0

As I recounted in my last post, I left the trail temporarily in order to move out of our house due to having accepted a contract to sell. It¢s amazing how much ¢stuff¢, to be polite, a family of four can accumulate in thirty years spent in one home! What followed was almost four continuous weeks of boxing, toting, moving and stacking. About three weeks into the process, the not-so-¢funny¢ thing happened. Something ¢popped¢ in my right knee and I was totally out of commission for three days and limping the rest of the time through closing on the house. Two days after closing, I was at the hospital for what was to be a simple arthroscopic meniscus repair and then back to the trail before the end of the summer.  It was not to be.When the orthopedic surgeon started the procedure, he found that I had a bigger problem. Not only did I have a tear on the surface of the meniscus (which is the padding in the knee between the upper and lower leg bones), but I had also managed to partially rip the root of the meniscus free from the lower leg bone. The fix for that? Pull out the cordless drill, punch a channel (aka, a HOLE!) through the bone and meniscus root and then cinch the two parts together with suture tape (which looks like a super strong ribbon rope.) And then...NOTHING for the next six weeks. No weight bearing. No walking except on crutches. No driving. No fun! Nothing but what the physical therapist allows in order to keep the upper leg, the quad muscles, from atrophying like everything else around the knee. Six solid weeks!Fortunately, I was set free from the crutches two days before my daughter¢s wedding and walked her down the aisle. I provided some unintended entertainment - to a collection of gasps - when I got my feet entangled in her train after giving her hand to her beau. A Texas Two-Step and I was free, unscathed!  How¢s THAT for a daddy-daughter dance?!?Unfortunately, the recovery from the more extensive surgery means I still need an additional 10 - 12 weeks of PT before I can really start rebuilding the muscles I need for hiking anything as challenging as the Appalachian Trail.  So my plan now is to pick up the Trail next March, skipping the section I hiked this year as well as the contiguous section I hiked a couple of years ago. This means I¢ll begin at the foot of the Smokies, which have the highest elevations of the southern Trail. Nothing like starting off with a bang! If I finish the Trail from there, I¢ll return to re-hike the southernmost 170 miles to make it a true thru-hike. Thanks for reading and hiking along with me!
Date: 2017-10-30
To: View Entry
Miles today: 0.0

The Appalachian Trail thru hike has been a distant dream of mine since first viewing the white blaze, etched into a tree on a section of the trail in the Smokies, while hiking with my wife, some 15 years ago.We both retired in early 2013, spent two and a half years cruising The Great Loop, and the last year and a half RV-ing from Connecticut to Washington and the Canadian Rockies.Family and friends kept asking us "what's next?". Why, the Appalachian Trail just seemed to be within the natural progression of our retirement adventures. Although my wife will not be hiking with me, she, willingly, will be my hike ground support crew, without whom I'm certain, I would have difficulty navigating all the backstage dynamics to have a successful endeavor.We're currently home in the panhandle of Florida through the Holidays, with the children and grandchildren. Backpacking gear is being collected and training has commensed. Very little elevation changes here, as expected, compared to our day hikes in the Rockies, Glacier NP, Canadian Rockies and northern Cascades.I've chosen an April first start date, not too early, and hopefully, not too late. Our plan is for me to hike to Harper's Ferry, NOBO, then drive RV north to Maine and hike south from the northern Trail terminus, Mt. Katahdin. Several family and friends have voiced desires to join me for a day/s on the Trail. I hope everyone is flexible, as I envision timeline logistics and planning, more than a week or two in advance, will be unrealistic.I have never had much discipline to contribute to a personal journal of any kind, short of a ship's log, so this first entry is just a start of a beginning a new adventure, backpack hiking the AT.  GRIFFIN...Age is only a number and not a sentence.
Date: 2017-11-01
To: View Entry
Miles today: 0.0

My wife, Annie, and I day-hiked at least three days a week this past summer while touring the Western US and Canada in our RV. This experience was awesome for both of us, but also served as a pre-training conditioning for hiking the AT, but obviously without the overnight challenges.We've been home about two weeks and I have begun training in ernest by hiking and biking local trails. So far my longest hike was 10 miles (virtually zero elevation changes) and yesterday's bike ride covered nearly 32 miles. I have included the bicycle regimen so as to give my feet time to toughen up, but more importantly to add some variety to my near daily workouts. I've already developed identical blisters on both feet under the ball. I'm attributing these to walking on hot asphalt surfaces and not stopping to change socks and letting my feet cool down.  My gear list keeps growing and I'm beginning to think, "do I really need all this stuff". I will probably start the AT with way too much and be adding to the donation boxes during the first couple of weeks. I do plan on hiking/camping in a large nearby state park, so hopefully I will have weaned my gear inventory down to the absolute necessities. Right now the Boy Scout in me is telling me to, "Be Prepared".GRIFFIN...Age is only a number and not a sentence.
Date: 2017-11-02
To: View Entry
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: overcast clouds

I really can't complain, training for the AT hike here on the northern Gulf Coast has no drawbacks. Weather is mild, winds are variable, rain this time of year, sans tropical systems, are welcome.  I can't say I enjoy it, though.  I'm still trying to wrap my head around the hike, food, shelter, physical capabilities and mental steadfastness, these are all are boring into my psyche.  I feel that once those components start to solidify, the ability to enjoy and be "in the moment" will calm my apprehensions, and then I can focus on the beauty that surrounds me.  Today's bike ride, (my blisters did not allow a hike, again) was more enjoyable than previous rides. I now have a mirror on my helmet and I carried only water instead of my day pack, stuffed with everything but the kitchen sink. I have never road 39 miles in one day before, and this evening I can see why. Totally different muscles, but again, I feel doing something is better than nothing. This is my third entry in my AT hike journal. One, it makes my entries official, second, it's amazing how I've come to enjoy this effort, sharing something as personal and, hopefully, helpful to the next hiker.  Is this OK?  GRIFFIN...Age is only a number and not a sentence.
Date: 2017-11-07
To: View Entry
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: clear sky

It is a great feeling to get out on local trails and hike knowing that soon, the Real Hike is in the near future.  I rode past a gopher turtle today (picture attached) and that really got me thinking about my training and how I need to go about it. I've been hiking and biking too fast, then tiring way too soon. I have to slow down, enjoy where I'm at and condition my body to endure 6, 8 or 10 hours on the trail. It is still very early in the training, but I have the time, so I need to slow down.  Today's hike was in and around Big Lagoon State Park, just west of Pensacola. Trails weave through long leaf pines and scrub oak, mostly sand, but at times on boardwalks over the acres of salt marsh. A really beautiful park, we've camped here a few times, but mostly used the boat ramp to launch our boats through the years while we lived and worked in the area.  GRIFFIN...Age is only a number and not a sentence.
Date: 2017-11-11
To: View Entry
Miles today: 0.0

Late October and early November is our favorite time of year, especially after a cold front. The daytime temps in 60's with lows in the forties. Great weather for training for The Hike.  Hiking twelve miles yesterday, carrying about eighteen pounds in my day pack, was glorious. The chronic blistering issues on the balls of my feet never happened. Modifying the insole inserts and donut moleskin padding combination, hopefully, will be the solution. I have EEE width feet and very high insteps, with a tendency to land on the balls of my feet, which I'm sure has led to the blisters also. Concentrating on 'heel-toe' gate yesterday also helped. Hope I'm not boring anybody talking about my feet?Training gives me the opportunity to try out new hiking gear I've been receiving in the mail, almost daily it seems. Carbon fiber trekking poles with cork grips, by Big Foot, are my latest acquisition. A quarter of the weight of my previous pair and a better locking system are the upsides, the grip is smaller in diameter, so I think I need to add tape, possibly bicycle grip tape, to expand the grips.Annie, my wife, has already begun locating and booking campgrounds near the trail to park our RV. Swannanoa, NC, Damascus, Va, Waynesboro, VA and Eddington, Me (I'm flip- flop hiking) are locations selected so far. Monthly rates are much more affordable and not moving the coach as often (I do all the driving) will be the plan. I'm an optimist, and what's the downside if something happens and I need to get off the trail, we have a leisurely camping adventure along the Appalachian Mountains, from Georgia to Maine and back.GRIFFIN...Age is only a number and not a sentence.
Date: 2017-12-20
To: View Entry
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: clear sky

I have mentioned in previous posts that training here on the Gulf coast presents few elevation challenges compared to what will be encountered on the AT. So when I do encounter an elevation change I'm on it.The wildlife observatory located on one of my training hikes presents an opportunity to get some ascending and descending practice. These past few weeks I have only been able to train one or two days a week, hiking eight to ten miles a day. My pack is loaded with pretty much everything that I will carry on the AT, except food. I've added full water bottles to simulate the food weight, which I approximate at near eight pounds, with my plan of resupplying every five to seven days. My training after the first of the year will include several overnight hikes in the northern part of Santa Rosa County within the Blackwater State Park boundaries. This is a very large forested park with HILLS. Hopefully by then I will have culled my pack weight to less than 35 pounds. I know this still sounds like a lot to some but it is what it is. I wish everyone a Joyous Holiday Season and may your New Year be healthy and happy.GRIFFIN...Age is only a number and not a sentence.
Date: 2018-01-07
To: View Entry
Miles today: 0.0

I hope everyone's Holidays were enjoyable. We spent a week in the Chicago area staying with my Mom and spending time with family. My hope is to be as healthy as my Mom when I'm 93. That goal is one of the reasons (of many) I am hiking the AT. I turn 65 while on the trail and the physical fitness side of this endeavor, for me, is to enter into my senior citizen chapter in good physical condition.I'm back hiking, locally, and carrying my loaded pack. Logged 12 miles yesterday, and although it didn't offer much in elevation changes, I figured walking in white powdered sugar sand does offer some benefits.  Again, my plan is to spend multiple hiking overnighters in State Parks, here in the Florida Panhandle, which do have hills.  Annie has been experimenting with recipes using items she had dehydrated, with the goal of one pot hot meals, by just adding boiling water. So far, almost everything has been very good.I know some folks are starting the AT this month, so here's to you, may you have gentle weather on the Trail and a warm bed each night.GRIFFIN...Age is only a number and not a sentence.
Date: 2018-01-28
To: View Entry
Miles today: 0.0

According to Wikipedia;A shakedown hike is when a backpacker, in preparation for a long hike such as the Appalachian Trail, Pacific Crest Trail or the Continental Divide Trail, takes their selection of equipment on a shorter backpacking trip with the intention of testing its trail worthiness. A related term, the pack shakedown, is when a novice hiker has a more experienced hiker suggest changes to the novice's equipment, often simply suggesting things to leave out.My intent for the three day shakedown backpacking trip to Florida's Torreya State Park was the former description of my hike. It turned out to be also the latter description, because of a chance meeting with "Predator".Mr. P., as I'll call him, allegedly earned this trail name because of his alien sounding snore. He's a self described "ultralight (UL) gear fanatic". He does not post here on TJ, has 700 miles of the AT under his belt and numerous international backpacking experiences. Our campfire discussions ran from cuben fiber products to UL headlamps and everything in between. Needless to say, but I will, there are a few changes to my gear list in the coming weeks, either lightening the load or eliminating items, I thought, I couldn't live without. I'm going to miss the 30oz. coffee press, among other things, too.The "Andake" one man UL tent (for a small man and pictured above) is going to be the first casualty. It proved to be very confining, poorly vented, (imagine a condensation party dampening anything touching the walls, = everything) and not designed for extended thru hiking, IMHO. Reccommended by Mr. P., the Big Agnes Copper Spur HV UL2, appears to satisfy my desire for a self supporting, high volume and somewhat light weight tent. Although pricey, when broken down to number of nights I plan on using it, the cost is worth while.So, anyone hiking SOBO on the AT this coming week between mm 448.6 and 394.8, you may meet "Predator". He is a very friendly person and an all around good guy.GRIFFIN...Age is only a number and not a sentence.
Date: 2018-02-23
To: View Entry
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: overcast clouds

Traveled back to Torreya State Park for another shakedown and training hike this past weekend. Five days and four nights in the woods, hiked over 40 miles, felt good, except the blisters on the balls of my feet reappeared the second day out. It was very warm, upper seventies, and I didn't pay attention to the hot spots until it was too late. Persevered for three more days of hiking with a full load, while managing the bottoms of my feet with moleskin and modified insoles.If you happened to have read my previous post, I introduced PREDATOR, the lightweight gear fanatic, well he joined me for the first days hiking and mentoring. We continued talking about where I can still shed some weight from my load, but also trail features I will encounter hiking the southern portions of the AT. I have a new ULA Circuit backpack on order, which is three pounds lighter than my Deuter. I'm combining it with a waterproof liner from ZPacks, so my base weight is now under eleven pounds. Overall, it still appears I'll be toting between 30 and 35 pounds, depending on days between resupplies from my wife.  My next shakedown will be on the Pinhote Trail in northeastern Alabama. We will be camped in Cheaha State Park, and the trail runs through there as it meanders NE to join the Benton MacKaye Trail, on Springer Mountain. Hope to hike 40 miles of it while at Cheaha.  GRIFFIN...Age is only a number and not a sentence.