morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2010-09-16
From: Springer Mountain, GA

To: Katahdin, ME
Miles today: 19.6
Weather: overcast clouds

9/16/10 - I made it!!!!!!!!!!!! Hiked up the Hunt Trail at 7:45 AM and arrived at the Mt. Katahdin Summit at 10:15 AM. Very cold - only stayed about a half hour. We had a group of about 10 or more. Scatters caught up to us and finished today on her 30th birthday!! Trail Magic awaited us after the hike.One word for now - Tired! 2179 miles from Georgia to Maine in 5 months, six days!(BBF)
Date: 2010-03-01
To: How This Came To Be
Miles today: 0.0

Some time back a person in my home town set out to thru hike the AT. Her story was reported in the local paper which was how I learned of it. Every week I waited impatiently for the updates she was mailing in from the trail, I was completely taken with the idea. I hoped one day I would get the chance to hike the Appalachian Trail. Well that day has finally arrived! Two weeks from this morning I will start off on the trail. I can hardly wait!Still there is so much to do. Today is all about taxes and maildrops. I'll be glad when the taxes are done and shed, my load will be so much lighter!
Date: 2010-03-02
To: Local Hike
Miles today: 0.0

Like the tortoise, moving slowly and steadily forward. There's still work to do on the maildrops, but the project is closer to ready to go. Taxes, check, LOL, in more ways than one! The load is definitely lighter!   The plan for today was a shakedown overnight but as I write, the snow is coming down like rain. Not sure this is going to happen. The weather this winter has been amazing and scary too. Those already on the trail are sure dealing with tough stuff, I really admire their grit and resolve.   My plan is to go to Springer no matter what for a 3/15 beginning, but I confess I'm hoping for kinder weather. If not, I will go anyway. All you can do about weather is prepare for it, right? A friend told me that, it's a good one. I made the decision to do this last October and since then have spent as much time hiking as possible and preparing dehydrated food. My food plan is about 1/3 home prepared food and 2/3 I will get along the way. I hope this gives me a balance of good quality food, but not so much the same ole same ole to get tired of it. I'm not vegetarian but the food I dehydrated is, I want to get some veggies into my diet out there and I can add tuna, chicken, jerky as I like.And isn't it funny how things work out. I was waffling on this shakedown tonight and I just got a call from the person who was to dog-sit for me. They pointed out that better to work out gear issues in dicey weather close to home than find myself unprepared later on the trail. Whoo hoo, I'm goin' hiking!
Date: 2010-03-04
To: Shakedown
Miles today: 0.0

Went pretty good last night. There was a bit of snow on the ground and the low got down around 20, so it was a decent test of my gear. Small amount of snow overnight. The bag was warm, feet got cold right around sunup, but manageable. Tent is seam sealed well. Stove works. Practiced hanging the food bag, worked beautiful using the PCT method. I've had a terrible time with this before, so this is a big leap forward! All good.Tomorrow I head out of town to deliver one of my dogs to the place where he will stay while I hike. I took the other dog last week, it's been quiet around here. I guess next week will be ultra quiet. Also delivering all the maildrop and extra gear stuff, so it's gonna be a big weekend. Whew! The vehicle is full up! It may seem silly to some, but missing my dogs is going to be a big deal for me on the trail. Still, I know that it will be all I can do to take care of me, so neither of them will be joining me. OK! Road trip!!!
Date: 2010-03-07
To: Road Trip
Miles today: 0.0

It's almost time to head for home. Just took the little dog for one last walk, then off to a most fabulous Oscar party, then the long ride tomorrow. I feel all mixed up, excited to go, but sad for leaving my family and dogs at the same time. Lots of people have helped me along so far. Family and friends are helping with maildrops and all things logistics, there are two dog wranglers, a transcriber, a plant minder, a lawn care and vehicle specialist, and two transportation helpers. It just goes to show how many wonderful people there are who are willing to help if only I ask. In addition, there's the online friends who have been so generous with their time and assistance. What an amazing community! When I decided to pursue this I knew nothing of the AT community, I am so excited to meet lots of new people as I make my way along the trail.   Wow. The help I've received already, having taken not one step yet, knocks me out. Thank you to those who have signed my guestbook. I really appreciate your comments and support!
Date: 2010-03-08
To: Stuck in the Middle
Miles today: 0.0

Made the long quiet ride home today, the place just doesn't seem right with the pups outta here. I'm in the in-between place, when I walked in the door the house had the empty sound, like when you're moving out. That's because there has been gear and maildrop stuff all over the place, for months it seems, LOL! So in addition to the dogs being gone, a lot of stuff has gone too. It's amazing how much there is yet to do however. I'm so glad to see the weather warming up some. I think I've done a reasonable job of preparing for cold weather and some snow, I expect to hike in that some, but what the folks have been facing thus far is more than anything I expected to hike in. Come on spring! I was planning to use pocketmail to send my journal entries from the trail, but have now decided to at least look into what the latest cell phones can do. That's on tomorrow's list of to do stuff. I'm kind of cheap and my current cell phone is over 4 years old, but I figure if I can journal from my phone without it costing too much and adequate battery life, then that's one less device I have to deal with. We'll see!Counting down, freaking out, all excited, in between! Oh, the pic is of the dogs, hiking in New Mexico.
Date: 2010-03-09
To: Soon Soon Soon
Miles today: 0.0

Well, today I got some financial stuff straightened out and some other reared a very ugly head. It's adding a complication element to my final week at home, but hopefully I can resolve the issue so that it won't delay my hike. This is a great opportunity to practice patience and doing what I can while I wait for events to unfold. I won't know how this will be handled until Thursday, so there is absolutely no point in sitting around obsessing about it in the meantime. I also went phone shopping, have decided to follow the lead of others and am going with the droid. This means I have a Pocketmail device to pass on to another hiker. Please contact me if you're interested, I will be able to mail it out until Saturday, after that it will sit here not being used all summer long. This is a special Pocketmail, it's made it's way up Katahdin 3 times all ready, most recently in 2009, and was handed down to me. I hate to see it spend this summer not on the trail. In addition to the bank and the phone, I worked on documenting my gear and am thrilled, I say THRILLED! that the thing is at 26.5 pounds without food & water. I may try to whittle a bit more! I never thought I could get there and have gotten great advice and support from some previous thru hikers. Emails went out to friends and family regarding maildrops. So, I got some stuff done, I feel good about that.Tomorrow will be my last local hike with my home hiking pals. The local hiking club folks have been wonderful in their support for my hike. It's been a blast people! Still loads of stuff to do!
Date: 2010-03-12
To: Close now!
Miles today: 0.0

Today I sent off my first couple of maildrops. Talk about feeling real, LOL! The stuff's on it's way, I must go now!No new news on the dog front, so hopefully that is improving. I will wait until tomorrow to follow up and see how it's going. Handed over a spare set of keys to my neighbors today, they'll be keeping an eye on things while I'm gone. Carried off every bit of recycling. I've done just about everything I can do to get ready, now I'm down to the last few things. One more local hike tomorrow with my BFF. A final load of laundry. Straighten up the kitchen. I am a terrible housekeeper, really, the worst, and today caught myself trying to schedule time in the next 36 hours to dust!!! LOL! Where did that come from? Even if I do, I'd say a fair amount of dust is going to settle around here while I'm gone. So I won't dust. I am excited and anxious and scared and thrilled and can't wait for the adventure to begin. What a mix of feelings! Just keep moving forward. Monday will be here before I know it.
Date: 2010-03-14
From: The Road to the Beginning

To: Springer Mountain
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: light rain

Today my good friends Lisa and Brenda drove me to the start of the trail. The ride up the mountain on the forestry access road to the start of the trail was quite scary. While bouncing along a very narrow road covered in ruts and two feet of wet, slick mud, Lisa made the comment that she and Brenda now have new ¢trail names." Lisa is ¢Pees Her pants¢ and Brenda is now ¢Poops Her pants."
Date: 2010-03-15
From: Springer Mountain

To: Hawk PMT 
Miles today: 7.8

What a thrill!   I am at Hawk PMT Shelter and having a blast. Met lots of great folk. Lost one glove before lunch. I am happy. I hope I will be warm tonight. Did not do the approach trail, it was a wild ride up the mtn. Thx to Brenda and Lisa. You two rock!
Date: 2010-03-16
From: Hawk PMT 

To: Gooch Mtn 
Miles today: 7.3
Weather: scattered clouds

The word for today is splendid. The sun came out and there were even gnats out when I stopped for lunch. I also saw a butterfly and a bee today. Some trees are covered in buds. Spring is on the way. Met a fellow with a dog, did not look like fun for either of them. Hope mine are behaving.Supper tonight was yummy pumpkin pasta.Bedtime now. Splendid!
Date: 2010-03-17
From: Gooch Mtn 

To: Slaughter Creek Campsite
Miles today: 12.4

A very long day for me, my personal longest backpack before today was 11 miles and that was a long time ago. A very good day too, the word for today is CAN as in I can! I got up early and moved as fast as I could because I knew it would be a long one. I am cooking breakfast every day, oatmeal with nido and brown sugar with a cup of tea and it's good, but I am painfully slow in the morning and the cooking makes me even slower. We'll see if I continue this after the oatmeal is gone. Anyway, it was hustle hustle hustle. I see as I look at the plan that I should have gone a bit past the shelter yesterday, but what's a plan for if not adapting anyway? Today was Big Cedar, Ramrock and Burnett Field Mtns. Each one a good time in their own right, as was Sassafras and Justus the day before.   The trail passes by Army Ranger training base and we heard shooting all day but thankfully nobody leapt out of the forest in full camo. I would've had a heart attack right then. When we passed thru Woody Gap was when I got to thinking hey, I can do this! Whoohoo! Also, my first ontrail trail magic was from a section hiker with creme brulee almonds. Yummy! Ashamed to say I do not remember his name. My bad, all the way. Good guy.I had a look at what's been posted already and I see the transportation specialists did not share their trail names, Poops In Her Pants and Pees On Herself. Ladies, that was a wild ride up Springer on FS42, I buried my face in the backseat. You can drive me anywhere, anytime. I don't care if we take the long way around.
Date: 2010-03-18
From: Slaughter Creek Campsite

To: Neels Gap
Miles today: 3.2
Weather: broken clouds

Today was a lite hiking day but lots of other stuff going on. Because I had a short day planned I took longer than usual to get out of camp this morning. There was only one other person at the camp site so we helped each other out, I by filling his water and he by hanging our food. Then he had to get it down again because I realized I had food in my tent. And, he did this in spite of the fact that after getting water I spilled his and he had to go get more.   A very nice guy. Glad to have stayed at that campsite last night, got me partway up Blood Mtn, the biggest climb yet at 4450 feet. Man! What a grid going down! Lotta lotta rock and steep steppy spots. The views up there were fantastic, due to my brilliant strategy of leaving camp at 11:00, the fog had lifted and I could see for miles! Proof once again, procrastination pays. After the longer than expected climb down which caused me to miss getting a hamburger, I picked up my first maildrop. I have too much food among other things. Grizz at the outfitter went thru my pack to make suggestions on ways to lighten my load. One, get rid of my 12 bandannas (joke, I only have 5, hehe). Also, he suggests I send my underwear home and go commando. LOL! Well, I'm taking it under advisement, it's a long walk and if that increases my enjoyment of it, well. I will not be updating my journal on this topic. In fairness, he made some helpful suggestions and I am following some of his advice.After that and because the water at the hostel is intermittant right now I walked down the road to Blood Mtn Cabins where the proprietor has allowed me to shower and laundry, altho I am not staying here. A very kind and generous act on his part.Not sure about the etiquette of naming names here, but already I have met many wonderful people.
Date: 2010-03-19
From: Neels Gap

To: Low Gap 
Miles today: 10.8
Weather: clear sky

What a great day! It started with a fine breakfast prepared by Ms Janette at the hostel at Neels Gap. Took care of a little biz, then set off. The weather was beautiful, met lots hikers, one hiking in crocs due to the blisters. I am surrounded by fine folks. The views were fab. Had lunch on Cowrock Mtn. Pushed hard up Tesnatee Gap, then trail magic at Hog Pen Gap. Former section hiker had bananas and cold drinks laid out. Thanks Bruce! Hiked on to Low Gap and bedded down for the night. A long good day.
Date: 2010-03-20
From: Low Gap 

To: Blue Mtn Shelter
Miles today: 7.2
Weather: broken clouds

The weather for this stretch was so beautiful I even got a bit of sunburn. I had camped at Low Gap Shelter with Stickwalker and Belle (the weimereiner), Buzzsaw, Gouda, Noodles and Abe. They're a fun bunch to hang with but they outpaced me this day. I hope to see all of them along the trail somewhere. This was my first weekend day out and there were lots of dayhikers and weekend backpackers out. It was a lovely day.My feet were kind of burning from the long day before so I took it somewhat easy and stopped at Blue Mtn Shelter. Jennifer, Kingcrawler, Little Aspen and Peacetree and Caveman were all there. Aspen and Peacetree built a campfire which was nice. The view from the shelter was great! There was a chance of rain overnight so this was my first night in a shelter. I was tired enough to set aside the heebiejeebies about mice. I slept ok.
Date: 2010-03-21
From: Blue Mtn Shelter

To: Tray Mtn Shelter
Miles today: 7.8
Weather: light rain

What a day! First I got a later start than I had wanted to out of the shelter, I must improve on my packup time. I hiked with Kingcrawler all day and he is very fine and pleasant company. We started from Springer together as he was in the shuttle we followed up the hill. We separated for a couple of days, then ran into each other again. Ok, so a thicket of rhododendrons is called a "hell". Can anyone tell me if thickets of Laurel are called the same? If you know the answer please answer in my guestbook because Kingcrawler and I would like to know. (Thx for the nice message Queencrawler!)Anyway, the rain started as a lite drizzly nuisance really as we made our way along the trail. It got steadily colder and wetter as the day wore on. Cold driving rain, sleet in our faces and howling winds. At times I thought if not for my pack the winds would blow me off of Tray Mtn! It was nasty!I needed to take a break in the woods so Kc went on without me. I took my sweet time and slowly made my way up to the Cheese Factory site, or what I thought was anyway. Sat down to hastily eat my lunch in the cold driving rain and who comes back down the trail but none other than Kc! He had been waiting for me down the trail and I did not know it. Poor guy. What a nice thing to do! I told him not to do that again, I felt so bad about him standing there waiting for me in the pouring rain while I'm sitting there eating lunch. He really is a very nice guy.So the weather continued to get worse, by the time I got to the shelter I was soaked through and cold too. The shelter was packed but there were many more yet to come that night. We cooked in the shelter or under a little roof on the side. At bedtime Peacetree put up a tarp on our side of the shelter which helped a lot because that driving cold rain was pelting the shelter sideways and blowing in. There were maybe seven or so outside tenting and one guy in a hammock. He wound up in the shelter with us, his tarp was ripping in the breeze all night. The wind was fierce.It was a rough night and I was glad to be under a roof. Crazy weather. We all laughed when we realized it was the first day of spring!
Date: 2010-03-22
From: Tray Mtn Shelter

To: Dicks Creek Gap
Miles today: 11.0
Weather: light snow

Woke this morning to rapidly falling temps. I had left my boots on the side shelf outside, trying to keep down the amount of mud in the shelter and when the rain and sleet went sideways it totally soaked them, if they weren't already soaked through. This morning they were frozen stiff with laces not even loosened. Also, as I did my morning chores my feet got very cold. I found out today it really hurts to jam cold feet into frozen boots, and jam is what it is, there is no gentle way to go about it. And it snowed most of the morning. It was a good cold day. My gloves were still soaked from yesterday so I hiked most of the day with my mountaineering mittens on. Thank goodness for backups!I had put my socks and liners in my bag with me to dry but they did not, I think because they were down in the footbox and I was mostly curled up in my bag. Will bring them up around my core next time and see if that does better. So I wore my nasty dirty socks today. At least they were dry! Came off Tray Mtn then over Kellys Knob, a very decent climb, but mostly down down down all day. I am at Blueberry Patch Hostel tonight, all clean and with clean laundry again. I lost Kingcrawler, Little Aspen and Peacetree as I believe they will be in Hiawasee tomorrow.
Date: 2010-03-23
From: Dicks Creek Gap

To: Bly Gap
Miles today: 9.0
Weather: few clouds

Coming to you from NC! Yes, I crossed over today. The Blueberry Patch was a faboo place to stay, the breakfast was mighty fine, accommodations quite good. Gary and Lennie were so kind and thoughtful. Nice spot.And, a joyous moment, I met Mrs Joy on the trail. Nice to meet her, she helped me solve some gear problems along the way.The day started out quite cool but the clouds cleared, the sun beamed on me and the damp mtn top and suddenly the lush scent of our mother the earth was all around me. It was glorious.
Date: 2010-03-24
From: Bly Gap

To: Standing Indian Shelter
Miles today: 7.7
Weather: clear sky

Whew, what a day. As usual, I was near the last one out of camp, but it was a good day for hiking, so I didn't mind much. That climb out of Bly Gap is tough! Got part way up and a little old logging road steered around the side of the mtn while the AT took a left. Missed that dang white blaze, hiking down the logging road sort of felt like home, found a really nice little spot up above Bly Gap with a fire ring, level camp site (not to be found at Bly, we were all sliding down hill all night) and just right for taking in the view. Eventually it occurred to me, it's been a while since I saw a blaze, and yep, had to backtrack. Those miles don't count for much, but believe me, they happened!Had some moments up out of Bly where the old fear of heights thing almost got to me. Not too bad, but enough to think of it anyway. I've noticed a bit of dandy birdcalls, especially in the early parts of the days. Really lovely, wish I knew what birds I am hearing. Forgot to mention earlier, we had a fine coyote chorus at Gooch Mtn Shelter. Had a stop of the quick desperate kind and lost one of my tortoises from New Mexico. Now I'm down to one, I hope she makes it to Katahdin. When I got into the shelter there was Mrs Joy again and Hiker X (96). Now that was a hoot! My feet hurt a lot this day, but still no blisters or really sore spots, just breaking in blues I expect. A good rest over night seems to make all the difference. Weather was fine.
Date: 2010-03-25
From: Standing Indian Shelter

To: Betty Creek Gap
Miles today: 11.3
Weather: light rain

Went up over Standing Indian Mountain today. Not too bad a climb actually, lots of rhodies & laurel up top, marvelous views. Had lunch at Beech Gap with Mrs Joy & Blue Sky who I met at Standing Indian last night. Nice time, sitting in the shade. It was cloudy & overcast, threatening rain all day, but at lunch, the sun beamed on us. Lovely.We knew the rain was coming so Mrs Joy suggested stopping to cook dinner at Carter Gap Shelter, then moving on to Betty Creek Gap to camp. A great plan! I had homemade spicy black bean stew. Some in the shelter were cooking strawberry pancakes with dried strawberries they had dehydrated at home! I got nothin on this bunch. It's fascinating to observe all the different ways people feed themselves on the trail, from very simple and quick to quite elaborate meals. I'm really enjoying see all of this.At Carter Gap it started to sprinkle and we were good and wet by the time we got to Betty Creek. I found Cheeseburger (from Germany, excellent fellow) and Caveman (also a good guy) way back in the campsite, what seemed a half mile off the trail. It was a long walk, but right near a creek in a rhodie hell. We, and all our gear, were wet wet wet when we camped, the five of us. Cheeseburger had never heard "Cheeseburger in Paradise" before so I made him listen to it on my ipod. I think he enjoyed it, but he might be just being polite.Oh, also on Standing Indian Mountain, I saw my first azalea patch, which begs the question; is a thicket of azaleas also a hell? A question for the researchers! Thanks Lisa B!I was cold all night and slept terrible but it was still a fine fine day. I'm having a ball.