morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2007-01-13
To: 52 days and counting.
Miles today: 0.0

The pack has been packed and repacked. I have weighed everything down to the ounce and I am carrying a little more weight than I would like but I don¢t dare leave the cold weather stuff behind with a March 5th start. The bulk is probably worse to deal with. My ULA Catalyst is a little more stuffed than I would like to see it. My dry weight is around 22 pounds which will push me towards 35 pounds with a full load of food and water. I will probably carry the cold weather gear past Mount Rogers so about the first 40 - 45 days.EMS had a store closing near me with 50% off. I upgraded my gear by getting lighter, warmer, long underwear. I also bought a jacket that is warm and fairly light but a little bulky, I have enough clothes that I could hike a zero degree day rather than take a zero day but the odds are slim that I will see temps that cold. But even gamblers shouldn¢t play the odds when their life is on the line. Record temps in the southern mountains are well below zero even in early March. This is a weird winter in New England with 50 degree days and no snow. Is Mother Nature saving it for Spring? I can't take that chance.
Date: 2007-01-18
To: Trouble
Miles today: 0.0

I just came from the doctor today, a podiatrist actually, which I saw in order to get a second opinion. I have chronic joint pain in the big toe of my left foot most likely started from a soccer injury 35 years ago. I was told it was joint wear and there is nothing that could be done. I know how to live with chronic pain but I also know it wears you down over time.I have been doing shake down cruises with my loaded pack of mostly 6 miles at a time and always end up with foot pain. Hence the second opinion. Today¢s diagnoses after x-rays is Hallux Rigidis. Basically a fancy couple of words for stiff toe joint. But it my case I have a bone spur and a flaked off chip floating around in the joint.Two options: 1 - Surgery ¢ 2 weeks to schedule and 8 weeks to heal enough to hit the trail.2 ¢ Suck it up, get biothtics to stiffen the sole of my boots and a shot of jungle juice in the joint which will probably last around 2 or 3 months. Get another on the trail.The problem is I waited too long. My whole life is planned around a March 5th start date. If I do the surgery then I will have to delay a month IF and only IF everything goes as planned. I have had surgery on both knees and a shoulder in the last few years (I play rough) and I have healed very quickly both times. The last surgery we did the knee and shoulder on the same day to save time and I only missed a day of work.This doctor is top notch and into sports related injuries as well. He also comes highly recommended as one of the best in the area. I could go to the guy that did my knee and shoulder but I would have to wait 6 weeks for a slot just to get an opinion. I have faith in this guy. He has also treated a couple of thru-hikers who went the ortho's and juice route. They jumped off the trail in MA to come see him for another shot before the Whites.The good news is the joint is actually in pretty good shape aside form the spur and chip. I can walk thru the pain even without Vitamin I. The issue is can I or will I want to walk with the pain for 160 days? Can I do it without pissing and moaning the whole way? Will the inserts and ibu be enough to get me through? At least with the pain it is a known entity. With the surgery who knows? I did talk to 2 patients in the waiting room who had the same thing done and they were pretty happy 3 weeks post. It is one hell of a roll of the dice either way.
Date: 2007-01-18
To: What to do.....
Miles today: 0.0

I have ordered the orthotic's already and will have them fitted. The main problem is the debris floating in the joint. I don't think that will go away by itself. The orthotics will keep me from flexing that toe joint which will keep the debris from grinding. Alignment is not really the problem. The problem is the buildup of crap at the joint and chips in the joint.
Date: 2007-01-19
To: The Die is Cast .....
Miles today: 0.0

I just spoke with the Doctor again last night. Bottom line, the chip is not going away by itself. I may make it without surgery but in his opinion I would be 100% by 8 weeks after the surgery if I did the right things the first 2 weeks post surgery. Either way I will need surgery. If I do hike without it the junk could start to tear up the joint and I would be worse off. Also, our health plan here is better than we will probably have in Florida. (I am in the process of moving pre-hike) Not doing anything for the first 2 weeks will be hard for me. I walked the day after knee surgery and I was on ladders 3 weeks after shoulder surgery. I spoke with my wife and the plan is to do the surgery here in MA and then head to the house in Florida after the post op visit. There I cannot go to clients (they are all in MA) or do stupid things (when my wife is watching). The doctor said swimming is the best thing I could do once the wound is healed. This will change my start date from March 5 to April 5th.+- Maybe I will lose the 19 oz jacket in my pack and a few more pounds from my waist. So close and now this.
Date: 2007-02-03
To: One Surgery Done.
Miles today: 0.0

The foot surgery went well. I am off to Florida for a 2 week recovery period. In my flurry or checkups my doctors now want me to have a cataract removed from my left eye that was a probably result of laser surgery some 20 years ago.I have that scheduled for 2/15/07. This should be a minor procedure.If you are planning a through hike do not wait too long for those check ups. Who knew I was such a wreck?
Date: 2007-02-08
To: All is well
Miles today: 0.0

One week after the foot surgery and all is well. I think I have overdone it a bit. I tried using a cane instead of crutches and I think I may put too much pressure on the foot. I have some soreness that was not there yesterday. Back to the crutches.My camera arrived today. A Canon SD 700 IS which is one of the small elf models. I am still looking into a pocketmail device.
Date: 2007-02-09
To: To plan or not to plan, that is the question
Miles today: 0.0

There is an old saying; "If you fail to plan you plan to fail" There is also the reality that the best plans for hiking the AT usually go out the window in the first days or weeks.I need to finalize plans and work out the mail drops. I am still torn over the bounce box and mail drops issues. I cannot get my head around the whole schedule issue. The planner in me, and the competitive side of me, are making me plan aggressively. The logical side of me says I am old and out of shape and I need to take my time. I am leaving a month later than I wanted to. Actually 6 weeks later than my original plan. I plan to really limit my zeros but the change in schedule now makes Trail Days a reasonable diversion. Also, from everything I have read, the trail pretty well empties for Trail Days. Even though I am hiking solo I still hope to link up with a ¢trail family¢ along the way. This is another reason schedules go out the window. Do you keep to YOUR schedule and ignore other hikers or do you fall in with a group and hike on a common or compromised schedule?I seem to be stuck like a deer in the headlights right now. I think I just need to be back on my feet. I know I can pull the final details together in a week or less.
Date: 2007-02-09
To: Montani semper liberi ??
Miles today: 0.0

Some of you may have noticed the tag line after my signature and wondered of its meaning and origin. I am sure you Latin majors know the meaning and residents of West Virginia hopefully know its origin. The translation from Latin is basically ¢Mountaineers are Always Free¢. For the history look at the Wikipedia stuff below.It seemed a fitting motto to me and one I adopted some 15 years ago. Ironically I just received an email with links to a ¢find your high school friends¢ web site. When I browsed to my school, HVRHS ¢ Falls Village, CT, I was surprised to learn that the sports teams are ironically called the Mountaineers. This is something I had totally forgotten since I was never much of a ¢spectator sport¢ person.Montani semper liberi -- From Wikipedia, the free encyclopediaMontani Semper Liberi (Latin for "Mountaineers are Always Free") is the official motto of the state of West Virginia in the United States. It was adopted as the official motto of the state in Article II, Section 2-7, of the state constitution signed in 1872. This article specifically states:"[t]he present seal of the state, with its motto, "Montani Semper Liberi," shall be the great seal of the state of West Virginia, and shall be kept by the secretary of state, to be used by him officially, as directed by law". The phrase was suggested as the motto by Joseph H. DisDebar, the artist who created the state's Great Seal.Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Montani_semper_liberi"
Date: 2007-03-08
To: Healing well - Planning Poorly
Miles today: 0.0

Everything is healing well. I have been doing daily hikes of 5+- miles with minimal pain and swelling. Actually less pain then pre-surgery. I did start to develop a heel blister which is good to workout now. New shoe inserts and different socks seem to have changed my foot position slightly. The eye has healed well also and everything is coming together. Business issues still haunt me. I need to make one more trip to New England and I am running out of time to get things done here.Mail drops? Who knows? I have not looked at a map in a month. There will be time the last week. If my brother goes this could change the mail drops.
Date: 2007-04-01
To: A note for April Fool's Day
Miles today: 0.0

Today alone somewhere around 20 to 30 brave souls will set off on the AT. The First Day of Spring is another huge start day.It is estimated that somewhere between 10% and 25% will actually make it all the way to Maine. These figures are hotly disputed among thru-hikers. Many believe the 25% figure is grossly inflated by people making false claims and skipping large sections. The Appalachian Trail is marked for the entire length (2,175 miles) with blazes of white paint marked on trees and rocks. Side trails and shortcuts are usually marked with blue blazes.Some terms often used:Thru-Hiker ¢ someone who walks the entire length in one shotSection Hiker ¢ someone walking the trail in sectionsBlue Blazer ¢ a blue blazer takes shortcuts. Yellow Blazer ¢ someone who drives rather than hikes from point A to point B.Purist ¢ someone who insists on passing every single blaze even if under water.AYCE ¢ ALL YOU CAN EAT ¢ A hiker¢s favorite type of menu choice.HYOH ¢ Hike Your Own Hike ¢ don¢t be driven by other people¢s schedules and ideas.I leave in 3 days and I am no where close to ready. There are still too many things undone. I am leaving my wife with ¢a wake¢ of loose ends. God bless her.
Date: 2007-04-01
To: A Hard Rain
Miles today: 0.0

A song that has been stuck in my head is A Hard Rain is a Gonna Fall by Bob Dylan. It is said that it rains 30% of the time on the trail. Another saying and probably the title of a book is "If you want to get to Maine you've got to walk in the rain." Here are Bob Dylan's words:Oh, where have you been, my blue-eyed son?Oh, where have you been, my darling young one?I've stumbled on the side of twelve misty mountains,I've walked and I've crawled on six crooked highways,I've stepped in the middle of seven sad forests,I've been out in front of a dozen dead oceans,I've been ten thousand miles in the mouth of a graveyard,And it's a hard, and it's a hard, it's a hard, and it's a hard,And it's a hard rain's a-gonna fall.Oh, what did you see, my blue-eyed son?Oh, what did you see, my darling young one?I saw a newborn baby with wild wolves all around itI saw a highway of diamonds with nobody on it,I saw a black branch with blood that kept drippin',I saw a room full of men with their hammers a-bleedin',I saw a white ladder all covered with water,I saw ten thousand talkers whose tongues were all broken,I saw guns and sharp swords in the hands of young children,And it's a hard, and it's a hard, it's a hard, it's a hard,And it's a hard rain's a-gonna fall.And what did you hear, my blue-eyed son?And what did you hear, my darling young one?I heard the sound of a thunder, it roared out a warnin',Heard the roar of a wave that could drown the whole world,Heard one hundred drummers whose hands were a-blazin',Heard ten thousand whisperin' and nobody listenin',Heard one person starve, I heard many people laughin',Heard the song of a poet who died in the gutter,Heard the sound of a clown who cried in the alley,And it's a hard, and it's a hard, it's a hard, it's a hard,And it's a hard rain's a-gonna fall.Oh, who did you meet, my blue-eyed son?Who did you meet, my darling young one?I met a young child beside a dead pony,I met a white man who walked a black dog,I met a young woman whose body was burning,I met a young girl, she gave me a rainbow,I met one man who was wounded in love,I met another man who was wounded with hatred,And it's a hard, it's a hard, it's a hard, it's a hard,It's a hard rain's a-gonna fall.Oh, what'll you do now, my blue-eyed son?Oh, what'll you do now, my darling young one?I'm a-goin' back out 'fore the rain starts a-fallin',I'll walk to the depths of the deepest black forest,Where the people are many and their hands are all empty,Where the pellets of poison are flooding their waters,Where the home in the valley meets the damp dirty prison,Where the executioner's face is always well hidden,Where hunger is ugly, where souls are forgotten,Where black is the color, where none is the number,And I'll tell it and think it and speak it and breathe it,And reflect it from the mountain so all souls can see it,Then I'll stand on the ocean until I start sinkin',But I'll know my song well before I start singin',And it's a hard, it's a hard, it's a hard, it's a hard,It's a hard rain's a-gonna fall.
Date: 2007-04-02
To: Bill Bryson - A Walk in the Woods
Miles today: 0.0

Many people have read "A Walk in the Woods". When people find out I am hiking they often say "Oh yeah, I read a book.....". Just to set the record straight thru-hikers as a whole DO NOT like this book. Bryson is a good writer and it is a funny book but it is also fiction. Thru-hikers are a close knit group. You depend on each other. You know who is ahead of you from the logs in shelters. You often hear who is behind you as well. Most evidence shows Bryson was not there. He was a "Yellow Blazer" at best and even that is contested.So read the book for amusement but refrain from mentioning it to thru-hikers. There are dozens of other books in the library written by actual hikers if you want to get a better picture of the real deal.
Date: 2007-04-02
To: Things, so many things.
Miles today: 0.0

I own a lot of ¢things¢. Boxes of things; Bags of things; Piles of things; Draws full of things; Closets full of things; all kinds of things. Things that at one time I was convinced I needed. Maybe I still do. The trouble is I own so many things I can¢t find the things that I need. So I have to go buy more things. I own more things than the average family of a third world country will own in three generations.We moved our house from Massachusetts to Florida way back in October 2006. We moved in multiple trips starting with a 52¢ moving van followed by a van, a truck, cars, and planes. The trouble is I never stopped to unpack. I kept commuting back to Boston to work on clients so I never really unpacked.Oh, I tore open a lot of boxes looking for ¢things¢. Boxes which by the way I left open because I might need more things out of them. I stacked other boxes because they had things I would need later, some MUCH later. Now it is time to go hiking for 6 months and my ¢office¢ in my house looks like a warehouse. So now I am taping up and stacking my boxes of things to the ceiling of my closet. There are other boxes of other things in other rooms of the house as well. My wife is left trying to deal with these ¢things¢. My wife is an angel.So here I am with all the ¢things¢ I will need to live for 5 or 6 months all in a pack that weighs about 22 pounds (minus food and water). I pick it up and I say ¢I have too many things in here I need to cut back.¢ Then I look around the house. Boy do I have too many things.
Date: 2007-04-03
To: Trying to finish.........
Miles today: 0.0

Pulling an all nighter trying to finish everything I need to do. I could use another week. We will slack pack down the approach trail when we arrive tomorrow. That is a good thing since I will have been awake around 36 hours. Thurday morning is the official start.Plan on finishing up work related stuff in the car and emailing it from the lodge.Thank you to all the well wishers and people who supported me as well as my clients for the last 18 years, and most of all my wife who has made this possible.Keep the world safe until I return.
Date: 2007-04-04
To: A slight change in plans
Miles today: 0.0

It seems I twisted my knee in my marathon of home maintenance. By 10:00 pm, the final Walmart run for trail food, my knee was swelling and sore. In addition, I realized I had been awake since 4:30 am and had not eaten a single meal. Does coffee count???The original plan called for leaving at 4:00 am and driving up to Amicolola SP and slack packing down the approach trail. It looks like sleeping in until 8:00 will replace the approach trail with the offical start still on Thursday.It is 2:20 am Wednesday and I am just emailing out some work stuff. The final write ups will have to happen in the car tomorrow or from pocketmail.
Date: 2007-04-05
To: This is it.
Miles today: 0.0

Well, after so much dreaming, planning, delays the day is finally here. We stayed at the Lodge in Amicalola State Park last night near Springer Mountain, the starting point for the AT.It was cold last night with a howling wind. The local airport is reporting 36 degrees at 7:00 am. I wonder if I should have kept that heavier jacket?I am just trying to focus on the task ahead. The hardest part of a journey is taking the first step. The enormity of the this adventure has not yet been realized and I think the reality will not sink in until after my youngest daughter gets picked up at Neels Gap 30 miles up the trail. At that point I say good bye to my wife and daughter and head out alone to complete this 2,175 mile journey. I won¢t be really alone with so many other hikers setting off but I am sure I well feel alone with my thoughts at that point.Thanks again to all that have helped put me here.
Date: 2007-04-05
From: Springer Mtn

To: Hawk Mtn Shelter
Miles today: 7.6
Weather: overcast clouds

Left Springer @ 1:00 pm arrived @ shelter. We had spent the night @ Amicolola Lodge.Trail is rolling and mostly decending to 3 forks and then a gradual climb to Hawk Mtn. Shelter. Amanda & I made good time averaging 3 mph in some sections stopping a few times to make adjustments and to have lunch. Met Rebel With A Cause, his wife, Curious George, his son Captain Chaos.Sent from the AT
Date: 2007-04-06
From: Hawk Mtn Shelter

To: Gooch Gap 
Miles today: 8.7
Weather: scattered clouds

Temperature was somewhere below 30, which is what I recorded just after sun up {7:00 am). Tried to sleep in but it was too cold. Got up around 7:30. We were on the trail by 8:30. Plan was to cook oatmeal up the trail after we warmed up. We could not get the lid off the fuel canister it was so cold so we ate granola bars. Arrived at Gooch Gap Shelter @ 1:30. Chaos was already there. He caught with us on the trail, as we were the first to leave camp, and hiked with us for awhile. He had gone on ahead when we stopped to eat. We decided to tent further on at Gooch Gap tent sites since it was still early and to get out of the wind. It is an additional 1.4 miles but it will cut down our long miles tomorrow. We arrived at camp about 3:00. We were joined by another couple with their dog. We were able to set the tents among everegreens to shelter us from the wind. It will be another cold night so we were in our tents by 5:30. Sent from the AT
Date: 2007-04-07
From: Gooch Gap Tent sites

To: Slaughter Creek Campsites 
Miles today: 11.0

Woke to 20 degrees and snow. The wind roared like a frieght train all night. Got up around 7:30 and hit the trail at 8:23. We cooked oatmeal before we hit the trail.The sun would go in and out from behind clouds all day. With the gusting winds it would get cold as soon as the sun went in so you could not take off your rain/wind gear. When we got to Slaughter Creek camp my hands were shaking it was so cold. The camp is on an open shoulder of the mountain with no shelter from the wind. The wind is already howling. The same couple we camped with last night are here with us again.Sent from the AT
Date: 2007-04-08
From: Slaughter Creek Campsites 

To: Neels Gap
Miles today: 3.2
Weather: clear sky

Wind raging again this morning. Water froze in my tent for the first time. Set out the thermometer but stopped waiting for the final reading at 24 degrees. A father and son hiking team recording 10 degress on Blood Mountain last night. It never got above 31 degrees all the way to Neel's Gap, Weather forecast is for 22 degrees. Decided to take a nearo here rather than fight the wind another night. I hardly slept last night with the wind. This adds a day to my schedule so I might be a little light on food. The owner of Mountain Crossings (Neel's Gap) sent out Bumpkin and Oreo Angel out for burgers and dogs for a Easter Sunday hiker's feed. I manned the grill to cook the food. Winton just asked for donations.Spent $15 on hostel $2 on chips donated $$ for dinner.Sent from the AT
Date: 2007-04-09
From: Neels Gap - 30.5

To: Low Gap Shelter - 41.1
Miles today: 10.6
Weather: overcast clouds

The wind finally broke during the night. I was up around 6:30 and took a shower and then enjoyed listening to the birds singing for sun up. It was around 40 degrees. I hit the trail around 8:30 with 'Usual Suspect' and we picked up 'Mignon' along the way. It stayed between 35 and 40 degrees most of the day. It was cloudy most of the day with snow showers most of the morning. The sun came out on and off during the afternoon. We thought we had one more gap and one more climb according to the profile but to our surprise we got to Low Gap @ 2:30.'Suspect' & 'Mignon' and I seem to make a good team and hike at the same pace. Here at the shelter with Suspect, Mignon, Rebecca & Brad aka Leadfoot (the couple with the dog from Alaska that camped with us the past few nights), Johnathan, Boognish Rising, Rebel, Chris & April (Veagans) Margret, Doggie Bag, Sweetwater, and Texas Jack. I am carrying too much food so I am trying to eat the heaviest meals first. There is a 40% chance of rain so I am sleeping in the shelter even though it will be below freezing tonight. Sent from the AT