morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2014-10-02
From: Stealth Camp after Wildcat Shelter NY

To: Vernon, NJ
Miles today: 14.5

I started out this morning in a very good mood. I was sure that I would finish my last 14 miles of this section and head for home tonight. The trail was flat and the guidebook showed the terrain continuing without much in the way of climbing until the end of the day. My sister, Tracy McG, always told me there are no easy days on the AT, but hope springs eternal. Of course, she is right, there are no easy days on the AT, and this was no exception. The flat terrain in the guidebook is actually a ridgeline, and that means rocks. Lots of climbing, up and down. Some of the rocks were extremely difficult to get over and a few times I wondered if it would be possible to even get up or down them without injury. Somehow I managed, but it was slow going. From the ridgeline there were wonderful views of a lake and the area around it. At one point on the trail, the rocks were so steep and high that there was a ladder to get up or down the rock. I was sure glad to see the ladder. Don't know how I would have gotten down that rock without it. When I got to Prospect Rock, after a particularly trying climb, I saw a blue blaze trail and decided it must be a bypass. I decided to take the bypass, but after a little while I decided that it was heading in the wrong direction. Since I didn't really know where it would go, I went back and climbed Prospect Rock after all. It wasn't nearly as bad as the rocks I had just come over and I felt a little silly for trying to cheat. I met a couple of hikers eating lunch at the top and stopped to chat for a little while. They were doing a section hike of NY and CT. They asked about water, and I told them there really isn't much out there. They said the same was true for NJ. I went a little further to the NY/NJ border. I took a picture with one foot in each state, then sat down to have a multi-state lunch. After lunch, the trail was a lot easier, but I still had a ways to go if I wanted to reach the van before dark. I walked fast and covered the distance in fairly good time. By 5:00 I was at the top of Wawayanda Mountain. I decided to skip the view since I have been there before. It was already getting dark under the trees and I knew the trail down was steep and difficult. I picked my way down the mountain and reached the bottom by 6:00. Soon I was out of the dark woods and into a field where it was still quite light. I reached the van, tired and thirsty. The ride home through all of that NJ traffic was no fun, but when I got home, I had a bowl of soup and went to sleep. My first solo hike was finished successfully. All in all, I like to hike with a partner better, especially if I am staying overnight, but I wouldn't object to solo hiking if I can't find someone to go with me. It was great to hike in the fall with all of the leaves and quiet and I didn't get eaten by a bear. I have now completed more than 1000 miles on the AT. I may do more this year, but definitely will do more next spring when I plan to finish the south with my sister, Breezy.
Date: 2014-12-01
From: Vernon, NJ

To: Home
Miles today: 0.0

For anyone who has been following my off again/on again hike this year, I have filled in the missing journal entries from my time with Jackrabbit Slim in Massachusetts. The dates are June 13 to July 6. I will be adding pictures again soon so that my journal for this year will be complete. I am planning to head out again in early May from Shenandoah south to Springer Mt. GA. In between I may have a chance to finish the section of NY that I am missing and the southern half of PA, MD and WV. I will be hiking next year with my sister, Breezy. I hope to meet up with Tracy McG again next year too, and hopefully Blondie will be able to a section. I guess I will just have to be patient and see what unfolds next year. In the meantime, I have been enjoying being with my family again, celebrating birthdays and holidays. My daughter lost her pet rabbit this fall, which was very sad. He was fun to have around, although pet rabbits are very messy. He was so soft and had big, beautiful eyes. He loved to eat our vegetables and weeds from the yard. I have been doing lots of walking, but sidewalks are not trails. I need to return to trail walking at least once a week, even though it is a long drive to get to any trails that resemble the AT.Merry Christmas to all of my trail friends.
Date: 2015-01-03
From: Home

To: View Entry
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: clear sky

Happy New Year!! Thank you to everyone who has signed my trail journal. I am planning a whole new hike for this year. Last year I had planned a thru hike, but was not able to finish. This year my goal is different. I am now a section hiker and am happy with that. I will be hiking with a different sister this year, Breezy. We are planning an unsupported hike, something I have never done but she has. We will be starting on April 28 from the middle of Shenandoah and plan to hike south to Springer Mountain. Blondie is planning to accompany us for the first part of our journey. I am very excited about the thought of getting back out there. In the meantime, I will try to complete some sections of New York and Pennsylvania which I missed last year. Tracy McG, the sister I hiked with last year is starting early for another northbound hike from Springer Mountain. I am sure she will do well. She is a very experienced hiker. Foodwalker will be along for support. We had such a great time last year, and she taught me so many valuable lessons on backpacking and winter camping. We hiked and camped through some very challenging weather conditions. I have to say, though, I am glad to be starting in spring this year. I recently read Brew Davis' book about providing support for Jennifer Pharr Davis on her successful record attempt to be the fastest thru-hiker on the AT. It makes me appreciate all that Foodwalker did for me and Tracy last year and the support he will provide for her this year. He has been a wonderful brother-in-law and both he and Tracy put up with a lot of complaining from me last year. I think I will have to make a New Year's resolution to do less complaining. At some point I will update my gear list, and finish putting my pictures from last year on TJ. To anyone who is thinking of thru-hiking, section hiking or dayhiking - GO FOR IT!! You will not regret it.
Date: 2013-02-03
To: View Entry
Miles today: 0.0

Wow!!How and where to start?My last day of work was two days ago and I am already getting used to it. Retirement is good but once I get on the trail it will be so much better.I will begin my Appalachian Trail hike next March and hope to complete it by the middle of August. I have begun to plan, prepare and the initial purchase of some equipment. I have also been reading many journals from those that have and have not completed the trail. Some of these entries are very helpful, especially in the planning stage.i am learning what I will need, along with my own motivation, to succeed in this endeavor.Thanks to all who have supported me so far.Freedom
Date: 2013-02-22
To: View Entry
Miles today: 0.0

A little later in the month and i REALLY realize that even though I have begun to investigate gear choices, this will be a whole year process to get the proper gear, at the weighr I want and have everything I need to sucessfully complete this trek. Thanks to my inside guy at REI, Tim who has thru-hiked the AT and is enthusiastic about sharing his insight. He doesn't tell you what to buy or how to do the hike but he will share his trail choices in gear and tell you what worked for him. I have been sharing my intent to hike the AT with others and have gotten a positive response from most. Not a bad thing. The destination is the journey.
Date: 2013-04-23
To: View Entry
Miles today: 0.0

Let's see if we can enter the right words this time. I was finally able to do my first shakedown hike last week. My gear was outstanding. Myself, not so much. Two words repeated themselves in my brain, over and over, as I was returning home after the hike: WOEFULLY UNPREPARED! My gear was absolutely outstanding. Everything worked as well as I could have possibly hoped it would. My body, on the other hand, let me down terribly. The only really good thing is that now I know just what I need to do to be totally prepared for next March. I need to increase my daily walking, along with adding a moderate amount of weight to start with. Then, when I feel a little more comfortable, add some serious elevation for extended periods of time. Then I will add more weight and more ups and downs. I beleive that the closer I can get to actual trail conditions, the easier this quest will be. Maybe my next post will give you a little insight into the mind of ME. Maybe a little background will help.Til then, ta-ta.The journey is the destination.
Date: 2013-04-28
To: Gear Time
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: light rain

Well I do not have much time tonight to give any insight into Freedom- THE MAN, THE MYTH, THE LEGEND. But I finally got my gear list finished (or almost finished). So, check it out. I will be able to make it to trail days this year so that is a very good thing. I am also fortunate this year to ride to Rolling Thunder in D.C. It is a rally in Washington honoring veterans and POW's MIA's. It is the wekend after trail days. I have wanted to attend for years and never got the chance. More later.
Date: 2013-06-01
To: View Entry
Miles today: 0.0

Well here we are again. This has been an awesome month. I was able to go to trail days and then the next weekend, I was able to go to Rolling Thunder in D.C. Trail days was great except for the accident. Thank goodness no one was killed. My prayers to those that were affected. I got a good feel for the camaraderie of the present hikers and got a chance to meet a great person in the section hiker Sandi from Pa. I learned a lot of first hand information. My trip to D.C. was a personal achievement. I have been wanting to attend Rolling Thunder for several years and, as usual, life got in the way. If you have never spent Memorial Day in D.C., you need to at least once. My visit to the Vietnam Veteran's Memorial (The Wall) on Saturday brought me to a point that I have never been at before. As I was talking to one of my friends, I realized that although you visit this wall and you see the names and you know that these are people that never came back alive, you do not REALLY understand that every single name was a real live person that died doing what many, many of us others have never done. They died so I could finish school, and work a job, and live a life that has the basic freedoms that others do not have. I can attend church, any church, that I desire and not be persecuted or abused because I choose what I choose. They paid the price so that I have the opportunity to hike this trail. Wow! Powerful realizations become commonplace only because we take things for granted. No more; never again. Thanks to all who have fought for our freedoms that we tend to take for granted. God, give me the awareness to never let that happen in my life. Ok. I will now get down off my soapbox.PeaceThe journey is the destination.
Date: 2013-08-29
To: state park
Miles today: 0.0

Ok peeps. Here we are in the park with the cell phone trying to figure out how to make an entry. We will see how long it takes to get it right. (Pardon the errors. I am making good progress with my hiking. I am going to start with some serious weight next week and see how it goes. I was a little disappointed to read a journal from a perspective 2014 hiker that said that the trails at Uwharrie are still in bad shape. I hiked near a month and a half ago and they were relatively impassable then, and no better now? Not so good for the practicing hiker. I guess I will have to pick a different place to travel for overnights. I am planning on leaving Springer Mountain the 17th of March next year and PLAN on starting doing 10 to 15 miles a day and increasing to 15 to 20 az I progress. I would not be adverse to hiking with someone looking to do the same mileage. Journal me back if you are interested. All for now. Got to hike. PeaceThe journey is the destination.
Date: 2013-10-31
To: View Entry
Miles today: 0.0

Gentlemen and Ladies, Boys and Girls, Dudes and Dudettes,Welcome back. Not many changes to my story. I have changed my departure date to the 18th of March; logistically it makes more sense for me and my transportation to Georgia. I also have a couple more items to add to my gear list and a couple items that have changed all together. My hiking distance changes from day to day depending on all of the other things that need to be done. I do not know who ever said that when you retire, you have time to do more; I think that they were wrong. I am a little disappointed that it is nearing the end of the A T hiking season, and people's everyday journaling is diminishing but I am glad that there are still those that are willing to share their insights about their time on the trail, even though they have already finished. Thanks to people like Hoosier, Clinker, Hobo, as well as, many more. I have also decided to try to reach all of the white blazes on the trail, as well as a blue blaze down the Shenandoah River. We will see how it all goes.Peace,RayThe journey is the destination.
Date: 2013-12-29
To: View Entry
Miles today: 0.0

So, what happens when you get sick and can't hike for two weeks? You go out into nature and start all over again. It felt like I was a newbie; like I had never hiked before. My body felt rough. It is a good thing that my hike does not begin next week because I would be in serious trouble. So back to the trail every day to get back to where I was two weeks ago. Oh well. Also, just a little rewrite from my last entry. I had a little brain fart and said that I planned on kayaking a portion of the Shenandoah River and called it blue blazing and should have called it aqua blazing. That is what happens to your mind as you get older. (Of course, some of us are born that way.) I have purposely not been counting down the days until the start of my hike. I tend to be a little anal retentive and get focused on specifics when I feel that I should try to be more receptive to the world around me and enjoy the experience as much as I can. There still has to be a certain amount of planning, but I do not want to get caught up in planning, or trying to plan, every moment. I pray that God will help lead me where He sees fit to have me.Peace, FreedomThe journey is the destination.
Date: 2014-01-20
To: View Entry
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: clear sky

Well, here we are. Eight weeks til the start of my thru hike. I am SO ready to begin this journey. I am really glad that I will have the opportunity to begin my hike with Road Warrior. We will both hike our own hikes, but it is good (for me anyway) to start with a partner (never having done anything like this hike before). This is going to be something completely out of my comfort zone.My wife has supported my desire to thru hike since the beginning but, has only recently begun to accept the fact that I will not be here for an extended period of time. We have not been together very long but, we have a special relationship. I know that everything will work out the way it is supposed to but I hate that we won't be together. I have been in contact with a local lady that is planning to thru hike in 2016 and we are going to hike some together before I end up in Georgia. Any hiking that I can get in before March 18th will be much needed. All I can say is that patience is a virtue. I am having a difficult time waiting for March.Peace. FreedomThe journey is the destination.
Date: 2014-02-11
To: Food
Miles today: 0.0

I have two words for anyone that needs a little variety- Lipsmackin Backpackin. I picked up this book last week and have spent the last four days reading, planning and shopping for the recipes in this book. I spent the entire day today (and I'm not done yet) chopping, measuring, cooking, mixing, dehydrating and bagging up food for my hike. I believe that I completed six recipes, most of those being lunch and dinner. I plan on coffee and light food in the a.m. What fun! I am a little tired from standing in the kitchen, though. If you like variety, get this book. You might find some things that will surprise you. Just about four and a half weeks to go now and I feel like I am running out of time. I feel like I am so unprepared and that there are so many things that I won't have time to finish before I am on the trail. I know that if I wait to hike until everything is done, I never will get out there, but I don't want to have to leave things for someone else to finish. Kathy and I are in the middle of so many things that sometimes I feel like we never will finish no matter whether I hike or not. Busy, busy, busy. I spend some days hiking while thinking that I need to be doing something else and then spend the next day taking care of personal stuff and feeling like I should be hiking. It can be a vicious circle. I know that I need to take a step back now and then and breathe. Kathy is the most supportive person that I could ever hope for, all the while knowing that she would MUCH rather have me here instead of on the trail. I went to Trail Days last year and picked up some stickers. When I got home I had forgotten about a couple of them until I saw them two weeks ago. I put a sticker on Kathy's calendar that says " it will be okay". Keep reading that whenever you wonder Kat and I'll be home before you know it. Congrats to all of the newcomers to trail journals. The list of people is growing every day. I hope to see many of you this year on the trail.Peace, Freedom AT Class of 2014The journey is the destination.
Date: 2014-02-11
To: View Entry
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: few clouds

Seven Days. That was a name for a television series years ago. Today it is my mantra. I have accomplished so much these last couple weeks and feel like I still have LOTS to do. As I check off things that I do, I just keep adding. There is one thing that I will make absolutely sure that gets done. I will not forget any of my equiptment. That will be a monumental task in itself. My brain only works part time. I tell people that I have C R S disease, can't remember ----. You figure it out.Not sleeping well these days. I cannot get my mind to close down, ever. I have never slept well, but now is even worse. As a child, I would lay awake at night usually until three or four in the morning before I would be able to fall asleep. Oh well, it is what it is.Thanks to all who have given me support and those that have signed my guest book. I look forward to getting to meet and know others when I get to the trail.Peace.The journey is the destination.
Date: 2014-02-26
To: View Entry
Miles today: 0.0

Twenty days until I start walking north. One of the things that I am REALLY working on is to be living in the moment. One of the most difficult things that I am working on is to be living in the moment, especially while I am anxiously awating my departure to the trail. I know that these last twenty days will never come again, so I will be grateful for the time before my hike, AND the time during my hike. I believe that my loving wife has finally come to grips with the fact that I really will be walking the trail and not be here for an extended time. Nobody has supported me as much as she has and I know that although she does not want to be here without me, she is glad that I will have the opportunity to take this journey. She is not physically able to join me, but I will carry her with me every day. We have a very unique relationship and spend the majority of every day together. We do not argue or fight (which I've never had before) and that is such a positive thing for us. If she wants to do something, or go somewhere, we do, and vice versa. Our relationship is the best that I have ever had. Alright. Enough said. My pre-hike prep work is going as well as I can expect, considering my focus is EVERYWHERE. My biggest concern is with my pack weight. My weight with five dats of food and my winter gear is 28 pounds. I really was hoping to keep in under 24. All things will work out as it should. Have faith. Looking forward to meeting all of the people that I possibly can as I hike and hope all of the present hikers are being successful with what they hope to accomplish.Peace, FreedomThe journey is the destination.
Date: 2014-03-05
To: View Entry
Miles today: 0.0

Well, here we sit. Waiting for the departure to Springer. I thought that I was done purchasing (and exchanging) gear. I hiked on Monday in the rain and found out that weatherproof is not waterproof. I am a little concerned having eleven days until I leave for Georgia and still ordering items on-line that I need for the beginning of my hike. I know that I shouldn't be concerned because I really do have time, however, here I am trying to be PRESENT and ready at the same time. Road Warrior wrote that his trail name should be Ready To Go. I told my wife that I feel the same way. I could spend every day until I leave hiking and I don't think that I will be any more physically ready to hike than I am now; certainly not any more mentally ready than I am right now. Thanks to those that have left me messages and everyone that has gone before to help with information and guidance. I am happy to be reading other's trail journals and I truly hope that I will be able to follow the journals as I hike. I hope my reception is adequate enough that I can log on to trail journals.I will also try to update my gear list before I begin my hike, as many items have changed since the beginning of my journal entries. That's what happens the more you practice hike, and by shopping at REI. One of my biggest issues is to let go and understand that it will be what it will be. That is one of the things that I have been working on for a while now; give my concerns over to God and don't take them back. Peace,FreedomThe journey is the destination.
Date: 2014-03-14
To: View Entry
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: clear sky

Getting so close to starting the hike. I am still not sleeping much, but maybe the exhaustion from the trail will finally fix all that. I have several things planned today, but did not want to put anything on the schedule for tomorrow as it is my last day at home before traveling. I am wearing the Vasque Breeze 2.0 shoes and decided to try a pair of the 2.0's with the Gortex. Unfortunately, they do not fit as I hoped they would. All I can say is, thank goodness for REI's return policy. My hope with the Gortex was to help with any snow/ice that I would encounter in the early part of my hike. However, the non-Gortex pair will have to do.I spent my last couple of waking hours last night on overthinking all of the little things that I "NEEDED" to add to my pack. There is only one real problem with that. The little things add up to big weight. I wanted to have a multi-tool, so I bought a small, lightweight one and it turns out that I was able to leave behind the larger pair of scissors and tweezers. Yea!! I am planning to only cook at night, so my solution for that is to have two food bags. One has the meals that need to be cooked and one with my "on the go" items. I will keep the snack food close to the top of my pack for convenience. I really like convenience.Until next time,PeaceThe journey is the destination.