morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2007-08-08
From: Hanover, NH

To: Etna-Hanover Center Rd, NH
Miles today: 5.9

Jeb called my room this morning and asked me if I was going slackpacking, and if so, could he come along. I said, "Yeah, let me check with First Wife, though, if it will work out." First Wife is in town with her husband Beach Bum and is assisting him with slackpacking in the area. I intended to only hike about six miles today with a light pack on just to see if I had some of my strength back from my illness the other day. So, in the pouring rain and mist, Jeb and I were dropped off on Etna-Hanover Center Road so that we could hike southbound back into Hanover for one last night. I felt ok, but not great. The hike wore me out, but I am ready to move on and out of Hanover.While on the hike we passed by the Velvet Rocks Shelter. When you look around and see all of the huge boulders covered with thick green moss, you know why it is named the Velvet Rocks Shelter.   For the most part, it was a short hike that lasted about two and one-half hours with occasional roots and slick rocks to avoid.Once back in Hanover, Jeb and I stopped by the grocery store, then went to Lou's for breakfast. Shortly thereafter, we split up to take care of a few errands since were both going north tomorrow and leaving Hanover.Pogue arrived in town in the afternoon. It's been a while since I've seen him. His friend Six-String had to return to town for his fall semester of college.
Date: 2007-08-09
From: Etna-Hanover Center Rd, NH

To: Trapper John Shelter, NH
Miles today: 10.8
Weather: overcast clouds

First Wife dropped me and Jeb off at the intersection where we both began our slackpack on the prior day. This was the first day in several days that I had a full pack on. It was ok at first, but I fatigued early and stayed at the Trapper John Shelter. Jeb moved on for another six miles.The trail had a couple of tough ups and downs that wiped me out. I hope that I get my strength back soon. There were a few great vistas at the top of Moose Mountain, but it's difficult to describe them any differently than the ones that I've seen before.I arrived at the shelter close to 2:30 PM and shortly thereafter, Take Two showed up and hoped to get a fire started. I'm normally not interested in starting a fire, but I did anyway. It was getting chilly.Butterfly Man showed up about 5 PM with his dog Oreo. Oreo's a well-behaved dog that is a mix of Collie and Black Lab. I enjoy seeing dogs on the trail, but I do not think that it is a good idea to take them out for weeks at a time.I think that because of my bout with food poisoning I've been having doubts about my ability to continue and again about my desire to continue. I've been out for two months now and I feel like I want to do something else now. I'll revisit these thoughts again in Glencliff.Short journal today. I'm tired.In and around the shelter: Take two (Southbound hiker from Tallahassee, FL)   She's named because she takes a second glance around the shelter before she leaves each morning. Butterfly Man (had a metamorphosis after his divorce), with his dog (to cope with loneliness), Oreo, and Melatonin.
Date: 2007-08-10
From: Trapper John Shelter, NH

To: Hexacuba Shelter, NH
Miles today: 12.0
Weather: broken clouds

I was the first one up this morning, but had a tough time waking up.   Last night we all had a good conversation around the fire that lasted late into the evening. About an hour into my hike, I ran into Laredo (from Texas). Just yesterday, he hiked past my stopping point to go on to the next shelter or campsite for the night. This morning, he looked at me and said, "Are you sure you're going the right way?" I said, "Yeah, are you doing a southbound slackpack?" There was silence. We realized that Laredo left his campsite and started hiking south when he really should have been going north. I asked him how long he had been hiking and he said, "I've been hiking for about an hour." Poor guy! Now he's got to turn around and hike an hour back up the steep Smart's Mountain for a second time, back to the place where he camped the night before, then continue to his destination for the night.Smarts Mountain is a tough ascent. I struggled with it since I'm not quite feeling myself. My stomach still feels "funny" after what happened in Hanover. The wind, temperature and a couple of passing rain showers made it a bit more difficult, but it wasn't too bad.   I was rewarded with a decent view of the surrounding mountains from the top.The water situation has been different in New Hampshire than in Vermont. There was plenty of water in Vermont as the Trail crossed many streams throughout the day. It hasn't been that way in this state. In and around the shelter: Dog, Slinky, Melatonin, Butterfly Man and Oreo (a dog with a mix of Border Collie and Black Lab.)
Date: 2007-08-11
From: Hexacuba Shelter, NH

To: Glencliff, NH
Miles today: 14.8

For some reason, it took me two hours to pack up and get moving this morning. It just felt good to sit around and enjoy the process of gradually waking up. Surprisingly, it was not as cool as the day before. The temperature was just right.The highlight of the day was early in the morning. The climb up Mount. Cube was reasonable. At the top are several huge boulders and slabs of what I think is white granite. There are some evergreen trees, but I had a fantastic view of a small town down in the valley and the surrounding mountains. What made it more interesting was that Mount. Cube was above the clouds and the clouds in between the mountains in the distance looked like white cotton balls (not the best analogy, but I can't think of anything else right now). That was the only view during today¢s hike.I dealt with a few bouts of nausea today that caused me to stop hiking and stand still until they passed. For the last seven or eight miles I contended with a sharp knee pain in the outside of my left knee. The discomfort seemed to originate on the upper and outer left side of my knee, radiating up my thigh and terminating almost at my left hip. It was very strange, but I have started feeling it become progressively worse over the past few days and I'm wondering if the medication that the doctor gave me in Hanover is aggravating something. I feel the discomfort while going uphill, downhill, or on level ground and it doesn't matter how much I flex my knee. It still has the same feeling, regardless.Finally, I hobbled into Glencliff and to the Hiker's Welcome Hostel. I set up my tent in the back yard, along with other people, as various southbounders reported that the hostel was not very clean.
Date: 2007-08-15
To: Home
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: clear sky

This is a difficult entry to write since I have been unable to completely collect my thoughts and feelings about this trip. Most likely, I will edit this page a few times as my thoughts become clearer and more concise.After plenty of thought, I decided to congratulate myself for spending two months on the Trail. I completed 642 miles and hiked through seven states during that time. If I don¢t pat myself on the back for this accomplishment, then I¢ll feel unhappy about the entire event. My intent back in June was to finish the last half of the Trail this year, but a lot of factors contributed to my decision to end my section hike in Glencliff, New Hampshire, with 400 miles remaining to complete in a future year.Physically, I was exhausted. It turned into a daily grind, a chore, just like work. I still had not completely recovered from the health issues that I had back in Hanover. I still felt weak physically and had nausea that returned throughout the day. Finally, I had a sharp, constant pain in my left knee that gradually grew worse over the course of my final week.Mentally, I was feeling lonely and homesick. This was probably the greatest influence on my decision to stop hiking this year. I had too much alone time in the woods. Sure, I met and often hiked with a lot of great people, visited with them during my stays at the shelters, but I did not feel like I had a connection to many of them like the friends that I've known for years. I did not entirely expect to either. I know that most long distance hikers have these feelings of isolation, too. Perhaps I have a more difficult time coping with it than others, hence my two month trip instead of my anticipated three and one-half month excursion. I¢m a slightly introverted person, so this comes as a surprise to me that I can have too much alone time. This falls into the category of mental considerations and these issues are prominent obstacles when hiking this trail - probably even more than the physical challenges, in my opinion. All this combined meant that hiking the Trail was no longer exciting and I lost the desire to continue. Perhaps, one day, I will become re-energized about tackling another section of this famous trail.This map shows the distance that I have hiked, northbound, on the Appalachian Trail (1,775 miles, so far). The red mark also represents where I may start again one day in an attempt to hike the entire length of the Trail.
Date: 2007-07-19
To: The Battlefield
Miles today: 0.0

Hola! Still working on a trailname; had Timekeeper suggested this evening, which was interesting...not sure what I'll go with in the end, but I'm guessing that it will come to me in some sort of epiphany. I'm working very hard on carb loading at the advice of Kevin, which involves sitting in front of the television and drinking beer; I'm not sure how good his advice is, I think he suggested it because it involves drinking copious amounts of beer. I've bought everything, except for my kiddie toothbrush, and my dry weight comes to just under 15 pounds - not bad. I tested the awesomeness of smartwool socks today by wearing them with Crocs for an hour-long bike ride, and they worked great; my kids are going to wear Crocs some day.Beer time...planning to meet Jeff and Judy at The Battlefield restaurant in Fred Vegas on my way out of Virginia on Sunday morning.
Date: 2007-07-21
To: Maine
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: light rain

Second to last day...went out boozin' last night; last Karaoke night at the 415. Sang some thug life music and had a good time with the somewhat sketchy ghetto family reunion crowd.Bought all of my food for the first 10 days or so at Farm Fresh yesterday. I felt kind of trashy buying a bunch of boil-water-and-pour-in-a-pouch-of-noodles-type "meals," but I did find some stuff that looked like it might taste good. Why does there have to be so much salt in everything? One bag of "gourmet" mac & cheese (the kind that made me feel sick when I cooked it in the driveway) has 106% of my daily value of sodium in it...wtf. Hopefully I can figure out a way to wiggle some fresh food into my diet.
Date: 2007-07-21
To: Yaaaarrrrrrrrrrght
Miles today: 0.0

Everything's packed, but everything else is a disaster! Room is a wreck, I'm supposed to be leaving in 8 hours, and I'm not feeling very ready. Oh well, what's adventure without sleep deprivation and a little bit of extra risk? Final pack weight is 26 pounds with 10 days of food, which isn't too bad; I shouldn't have to go that long between resupply points at really any other time on the trail. It's up at 5:15 to leave at 5:30, huge breakfast in Fredericksburg then hopefully Maine in time for lobster at dinner, then on to Millinocket, arriving sometime rather late at night. T minus 34 hours!
Date: 2007-07-30
From: Monson

To: View Entry
Miles today: 0.0

Yay! Made it out of the 100 mile wilderness and into Monson. Had the pleasure of hiking with Dirtybird and Numbskull, who were good for lots of advice, plenty of laughs and were able to eat some of my extra food. They both have done the trail as NOBOs, so they're a good source of knowledge. I struggled through sending my spoon back to VA with Kevin after climbing Katahdin, which was a bummer. I had to make and eat Mac & Cheese using a stick (a first), and then when I got to White House landing, I was offered a plastic spoon by Moxie, a NOBO. Well, the plastic spoon broke half way through the next batch of Mac & Cheese, and I had to finish the rest of the 100 mile wilderness with a cheap plastic spoon with 1 1/2 inches of handle left. It was the butt of many jokes, and I'm pretty sure that everyone enjoyed heckling me about it.I have yet to see any moose, and deer (other than on big K), or bears. I have stepped in toooons of moose poop, and am somewhat morbidly looking forward to poking the dead moose sitting in the middle of the trail at Mahoosic Notch with a stick as revenge for all of the moose shit that reconstitutes itself in the wet sections of the trail. Nothing really exciting to report. There are lots and lots and lots and lots and even more lots of section hikers, who have ridiculous amounts of food. That said, they are good for free food...last night I ate 5 brats courtesy of some dude whose boots lost their soles after 10 miles. That's 1050 Calories of brat...yum. I did experience some subsequent GI issues hiking into Monson (luckily I'm staying at a place with flush toilets tonight). We met some guys today who are planning to do the 115ish miles to K in around 5 days, and each of them was carrying around 60-70 pounds of gear (I thought my 26 pounds with food and water was bad). We were not able to talk them out of any food One of them was carrying three 30 ounce bottles of white gas, and had only worn his boots for about "10 miles or so" before leaving. Note to everyone: break in your shoes with at least a week's worth of all day use. Mad props to mom for the non-relenting recommendations for carrying poles. They have saved me from all but a few falls, and I even had the pleasure of putting a 30 degree bend in one of them (was able to straighten with my knee) during a fall to the ground. I'm doing about 17 miles a day (had one 22 mile day), so I'm right up where I want to be averaging, so I think I might be able to finish by Thanksgiving by nudging myself a little bit faster.Anyways, internet time is up, happy trails everyone!
Date: 2007-08-10
From: New Hampshire!

To: View Entry
Miles today: 0.0

I have finished my first zero day! Woohoo. I made some money doing trail shuttles, driving a 1984 Nissan pick-up motor home with absolutely no balls...there were quite a few hills where I was going 25-30 mph below the speed limit trying to get to the top...and it was just me in the truck. The food and company are amazing here at the Cabin, I'm having a blast and might just end up staying another night. I did just learn from the MATC guide that the section that we just completed is the hardest section in Maine...even tougher than the Mahoosucs. I've got a few days to wait until a replacement part for my pack shows up in Gorham, so I should be good staying here until Sunday, I just have to make sure that I make it to Gorham by Friday morning.
Date: 2007-08-11
To: View Entry
Miles today: 0.0

Dag yo! Somehow I got suckered into staying another night at the Cabin! We worked on diagnosing the disabled hiker washing machine, I took a shower, ate more food, drove around more smelly hikers and lazed in the sun. Since I managed to gain 9 pounds in 2 days (yes, I am still pooping), I figured what's a third going to hurt? I have pledged to myself that I will hike 17 miles tomorrow, which shouldn't be that bad. No more zeros until NYC. This morning was the first morning that I woke up and didn't experience any pain in the left foot for the first few minutes of walking, so whatever was giving me an issue before must have given up. I picked the scabs off of my knee, so I guess that everything has fixed itself there, too, after I rather stupidly slammed it into a rock trying to be a pole-vaulting hotshot before Piazza Rock. Some people at breakfast were talking about challenging oneself to hiking all of Connecticut (51.6 miles) in a single day...I think that I might give it a shot; it sounds like fun. There's a campsite .1 mile inside of Mass. from the Connecticut state line, and there's a town with an NYC commuter train station about 2 miles inside of New York, so I could reward myself with a few days in NYC for what will probably be a somewhat body-destroying exploit. Another thing people are talking about is going from PA to VA (covering MD & WV) in a single day, not sure how many miles it is (too lazy to pick up the book sitting next to me), but I've got my eye on it too, though. I went to the grocery store in Rangeley today on a shuttle drive in the morning, and my pack is all packed up for leaving in the morning. I am becoming more efficient at cramming everything in it, and might be able to downsize to an even smaller pack if this one gives out. I figured out how to get my tent into the main compartment, so that it will no longer be strapped across the bottom, where it sticks out about 3 inches to each side of the pack. Part of the packing is my realization that I was carrying way too much food before. I can eat a whole 1.5 pound bag of Peanut M&Ms in one sitting, so I keep them in an outside pocket when I leave town, because they don't usually last until after lunch. Plus, I was carrying all of those nasty Lipton meals, which I had/have no particular desire to eat. I have one left (yes, I shamefully admit that I've been carrying it since Katahdin), and I plan on eating it tomorrow night, before I launch full in to the 6 servings of raviolis that are supposed to last for the two other dinners before Gorham's Wal-mart. Perhaps my newly discovered aerodynamics will help me slice through the mountain air a bit faster. Speak of faster, there's a 70 year old man behind me doing 25s! It's time to light a fire under my ass and get moving...my 17 miles per day so far ain't enough. I'm going to mail some food forward into the Whites from Gorham so that I don't have any nasty experiences with the often poorly-spoken-of kids at the AMC huts.
Date: 2007-09-30
From: Williamsburg

To: Unionville, NY
Miles today: 0.0

Whoa! My last night at home is here, before heading back to the trail. Tomorrow I fly back to NYC, then take the train to Cold Spring, NY, and I hope to do about 10 miles in the afternoon. From the Companion, I have gathered that the water availablility in the area around Bear Mtn. is not that great.Anyways, the beach was great! For those of you who are not familiar with what I do, I have volunteered as a medic for Fredericksburg Rescue Squad for the past 5 1/2 years. There's an annual statewide convention in Virginia Beach, where there are competitions, and I was on our competition team this year, so I got a free trip to the beach. Most squads go to convention to seriously compete, we go to spend a few minutes "competing" and a few days drinking and throwing down. I was able to catch up on all kinds of juicy gossip and the like, which was entertaining, spent some time sitting around, napping, and walking around on the board walk, and hollerin' at people walking by from the hotel balconies. I also met up with a dispatcher from Caroline County (where I work part-time as a medic), and got even juicier gossip than what I got from the Fredericksburg folks. To sum everything up, there are a lot of crazy people that do Fire & Rescue. I was excited to learn that one of the people in Caroline who has a reputation for harming patients has had their certification taken away, which was a cause for great rejoicing.We spent pretty much the whole time drinking, and having a good time, and I can't stop thinking about how much I miss running calls. I am going to go up to Fredericksburg for a night in November when I'm home to work while Dad's on his hunting trip, so that I can run some calls. I also went to a kayaking outfitter in VA Beach, where I talked to a guy about touring boats and the like. He hiked NOBO last year, and gave me lots of good advice on where to start as far as equipment. It looks like the boat is going to cost about 2500-3000 bucks, plus a $400 paddle...kind of expensive, but worth it. I was thinking that I would just go to St. Paul and jump in the river, but he suggested taking a class or two to learn some of the self-rescue tricks and proper paddling technique. I guess it's a bit more complicated than walking!I have added photos, some of which are tagged to entries, but many of which are not. If you're interested in seeing them all together (which I suggest, if you've already read the entries), they can be reached by clicking on the Photos tab on the menu bar on the left side of the screen. I will add more photos when I get back to the house, which will be the first week of November, until then, just more text
Date: 2007-10-22
From: Harper's Ferry, WV

To: Bear's Den, VA
Miles today: 0.0

I have made it into Virginia, and I have fewer than 1,000 miles left of the trail! I passed a big Welcome to Virginia sign yesterday a few miles south of Harper's Ferry, but it wasn't totally true, as we walked along the border for the rest of the day, and into this morning.I didn't leave Harper's until 2:30, and had 12 miles to go, but I still made it to the hostel last night by 5:15. I arrived to find Barbarossa, Uly, Runway, and Andrew (Runway's boyfriend, who got on the trail in Harper's) and Jean Pierre, a guy from France who decided to hike for a bit after visiting his girlfriend who is in school in the DC area. My left leg has been giving me a bit of trouble for the last two days, after I was stung by some flying creature. I never saw what stung me, but it was on the back of my calf, and I danced around like the kid on fire because it hurt so much. This happened two days ago, and the back of my calf is still warm to the touch, swollen, and red. For the first 24 or so hours after it happened it was really painful, and I even had pain in my hip (not sure if that was psychosomatic or not, but it did go away with some ibuprofen). This was the third time that I'd been stung while walking on the trail, and by far the most painful, I wish that I would have had a chance to kill whatever it was that got me before it flew off, and also just so that I could have seen what it was.We're at the Bear's Den Rocks hostel in Virginia, which is about 1/3 of the way through the Roller Coaster, which is 10 climbs in 13.5 miles! The climbs aren't that bad, though, and my plan is to finish the whole thing this afternoon. There aren't too many more miles of it, and so far the morning hasn't been that bad. I believe that I have 11 miles left to go until the shelter that I was planning on, but the water there is dry, so I might call it a short day after only 11 miles total because that shelter's water is flowing strong per the ATC office. It's off to Front Royal and then Luray, where I'll arrive on Friday morning. Adios.