morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2005-11-13
To: The Weekend
Miles today: 0.0

As of today there are 122 days until I'm at Springer after that I will try not to think of time the same way. I want to focus on accomplishments, focus on small goals and work to achieve them. If I stay focused on the short term goals the long term ones will fall in place.Well I tried out my Big Agnes Mistic 15 deg bag and my Eureka Spitfire tent this weekend. Who would have guessed that New York would have beautiful weather in November. Fiday night temperature was about 30 degress and Saturday was in the 40s. Both nights the sky were beautiful and dry.The bag was more comfortable than I thought it would be. You see I don't like sleeping inside a sleeping bag. I twist and turn a lot and find them too constricting. The Big Agnes design uses my Themarest as the bottom layer, there is a sleeve for the mattress to slip into which works very well. I found I was able to move around in the bag and the bag stayed secure under me. I think I will be very happy with it. The tent had two of my friends in envy. They own Eureka Solitaires that weigh about the same as the Spitfire. They liked the side door and the additional headroom. I bet if it were compared to an MSR Zoid they would be very equal. As mentioned above the weather was beautiful and the tent did not get a weather test. I did find it to be roomy, I had pockets for my glasses and flashlight. As a test for working room I rolled the air out of my themarest and packed it and my sleeping bag into their stuff sack. I figured it would be a good test for those days when its raining and I will be forced to doi it that way. The vestibule had enough room for my boots and jacket, the rest of my gear was in my pack under the rain cover.All in all I think I made good choices with this gear, they should work out well.
Date: 2005-12-23
To: Pre hike doubts again
Miles today: 0.0

My journal entries have been quiet for a while and I know I have friends out there looking for more from words me. I am feeling a little superstitious right now. Before I started this journal I was apprehensive that I would say a lot about what I plan to do and then not go very far on the trail. I did not want to jinx myself with high expectations from things said here, and then have trail reality whip my butt later. I want the hike to flow on its own, I realize the trail is the unchanging master and I am merely a visitor who must adapt.My main concentration right now has been on retirement. It's funny I've looked forward to it for a long time, and I've had the date targeted for a long time. We have done all the things to prepare ourselves for this date and yet it I am not as confident about it as I thought I would be. I need this hike to bring on change, I need to not get up in the morning and have the feeling I'm missing work. I believe hearing the rain on my tent or seeing the morning sun glow on the tent will set my mood and course for each day. I've heard a lot of thought and reflection goes on in a hikers head while walking, I'm sure I will be no different. I've also heard a lot of thought about food,¢ What will I eat when I stop" is thought about too and again I'll be no different. The daily chores of miles, food, safety, and comfort will be my job and I will be the supervisor who will make the decisions the trail will be the boss making the requirements on me.A number of people have told me my March 15th start date will put me right into a big crowd. I've been told to expect crowds along the trail and at the shelters. I've had this date in my head for a long time, since I first started thinking about doing a thru hike. As with most starting that day I would like to avoid the cold weather yet not wait too long to start. Being from the north I have this concept in my head that it is warm in the south and that I'll be able to stand their cold weather. I know that is a misconception as I will be in mountains and on exposed ridges that can be brutally cold and wet. I'll probably carry too much cold weather gear and clothes at first in fear of being trapped at a shelter in a snow storm. I'll shed it later as spring comes around. I should be out of shape, heavy gear and totally lost in no time. If you are a fellow hiker out there and see me please be kind an limit your laughing, I'll adapt and press on.Have a Merry Christmas and or a Happy Holiday. May the New Year bring you good fortune.Chip
Date: 2005-12-26
To: Life on the homefront
Miles today: 0.0

I have had some concerns leaving my family for six months to hike the AT. I have been away that long before for military duty so why is this time different. I think it is because this time I have a choice whether I go or not go. I know my wife is resourceful and I have friends who would come over to help her resolve a problem.So what brings on this thought today? Well at 5AM my wife woke me because she heard running water in the basement. She investigated it and determined the hot water leaking. We spent the next hour and a half mopping up water and draining the rest of the water in the tank. I waited for the store to open and bought a replacement water heater. The one I bought was too tall for the place I had to put it and I returned it for another one. I spent the rest of the day running back and forth to the store to get the right parts and fittings to install the water heater. The failed water heater was installed on Dec 21, 1992, 13 years 6 days ago. The water heater wouldn¢t have lasted long and probably failed soon after I hit the trail, now I'll know it will be about 3 months old.I am determined to find the bright side of things and stay positive with my circumstances. Okay here is the bright side of this situation. First we were home and caught it quickly, second it was not leaking long and we were able mop it up quickly, third only minimal items got wet and they will dry without permanent damage, forth today is a workday that I had planed to take off. I didn¢t plan on spending my day off changing a water heater but it worked out. So all and all the timing was right, 13 years on a water heater is about a normal lifespan for it, and I'm still home to replace it.So I'm looking on the Sunny Side and pressing on. I know things will work themselves out while I¢m hiking and everything will be fine.I'm also practicing using the Pocketmail and learning a number of fat finger mistakes I'll be making. I intend to email this to my home email then cutting and pasting it to my Trail Journal.
Date: 2006-01-02
To: Happy New Year 2006
Miles today: 0.0

Well 2006 is here and the book on the Class of 2006 is soon to be written. There are new thru hikers waiting to start and many section hikers who have that one last section to become a 2000 miler. Good luck and good fortune to all. I have been waiting for this year to come and I would get the opportunity to follow a dream. Hopefully I will meet many of you as we all follow our dream.I now need to make amends to the most important person in my life, my wife Sue. You see a few years back when I mentioned to her I would like to take this hike she told me she wanted to do it too. For a few years we had planned to do it together. About 6 months ago I was going through mid life depression and I informed her I needed to find out what I am made of and that I needed to hike the trail alone to see what I am made of. I was afraid that I would be the one who would get hurt or want to quit hiking and she would be dependant on my skills and she would have to leave the trail too. I felt that being the only one I will be responsible for and the only one accountable for my actions would bring out the real me.I've had a few situations at work that have left me doubting my self worth, I took a voluntary step back a few years ago and I have been feeling that I am a failure ever since. By making the decision to hike alone I've hurt my wife badly, for this I am truly sorry, I never intended to do that. I hope I can make it up to her some way, I want to thru hike with her in a few years when we are both free from jobs. I broke up our team by mentioning what I needed to do. The old saying "There is no I in team" is so true. I've learned that I is a tapered letter, it is narrow on the bottom and wide on the top. When you use it incorrectly it becomes a wedge that splits things apart, sort of like a wood splitting wedge.I've noticed from reading past Trail Journals that thru hikers become self centered. I can understand why this happens. A hikers focus is on what I can do today, what will I eat today, where will I sleep tonight, will I be able to hitch a ride into town to pick up supplies, and why don't these people realize I am a thru hiker and should be treated special.I would not be out there if it were not for the support my wife is giving me to do this. She is very gracious to support me as I pursue this endeavor even though she has been hurt badly by me. She has been my better half for almost 36 years. I love her and I appreciate her support. She is a far better friend to me than I am to her and I thank her. I don't know what I did to be so blessed, I am a lucky man.I wish everyone a Happy New Year and good hiking.Chip
Date: 2006-01-03
To: Communication with home
Miles today: 0.0

I just signed up for a new cell phone that I will have with me on the trail. I wanted to know which carrier had the best signal and there wasn't too much about it in Trail Journals or Trail Forums. I posted the question asking which carrier had the best service (signal) along the AT, to find out which one would be best. The answers I received seemed to say good things about both Cingular and Verizon. I was favoring Verizon because that is the company my wife had and we were pleased with the service. Then the deciding factor happened when I received my Pocketmail. There was a sticker on the carton that says "The Pocketmail Composer is fully compatible with T-Mobile, Cingular, AT&T, and Nextel digital and analog cell-phones. While using the Pocketmail Composer with Sprint and Verizon, we recommend you switch your cell-phone to analog mode, as transmission may not be reliable on all headsets in digital mode. Additional cell-phone charges may apply in analog mode." Well they were right it didn't work with our Verizon phone and why would I want to pay additional charges to send my email. We now have Cingular phones and the Pocketmail Composer works fine.I know there are many hiking purists who feel cell-phones have no business in the wilderness. They may have had one of those experiences of sitting peacefully on top of a mountain trying to relax with nature and all they heard was "Guess where I am, yup I'm on top of a mountain and another 20 minutes of blah, blah blah." I agree there are people who ruin the experience for other by being inconsiderate with their phones. I intend to use it discretely by hiking away from people to use it and to duck out of the way when possible.With the technology we have today it is important to keep my family at ease and informed. I will try to email often and call when possible. They need peace of mind knowing I am okay and I need to know they are okay too.
Date: 2006-01-15
To: Planning and Preparation
Miles today: 0.0

Whenever I read former thru hiker¢s advice where they say buy your food along the way I become uneasy. The things that run through my head are, "What are they eating?... "What can you buy at a gas station for a limited resupply?" I expect I will learn what others are buying and I will see for myself as I pass thru towns. From my experience I can then adjust my resupply plan to meet my needs.In the mean time I have been doing a lot of food planning, recipe testing and purchasing supplies. I have bought numerous Lipton/Knorr Sides for dinner. I ordered #10 cans of dehydrated Chicken, Beef and Turkey and Just Tomatoes mixed vegetables to fill these meals with protein and flavor. When I receive these items I'll vacuum pack single meal packets. Then there are those Tuna, Spam, Chicken foil packets that seem like good lunch meats to go on a variety of crackers.I think my food choices should be okay, I'm trying to have good foods and a good variety so I don't get bored with my menu. I've read many times of how thru hikers lose a lot of weight over the course of their hike. I've also seen how so many ends up exhausted for weeks after they return home. I have a theory that the exhaustion is from not enough protein in their diet. Sure there are the ice cream eating binges, the huge pancake stacks, and the AYCE places. I just to stay fueled and eat right. The funny thing is I'm not a fussy eater, I'll eat almost anything.The spring like weather we have been having allowed me to hike a lot outside last week. I do a 5 mile loop in a local park as often as I can. On Friday I put a 30 lb pack on and did the loop, it was a little harder but it wasn't as bad as I thought it might be. Of course the hills are small and the elevation is about 450 feet above sea level. Either way I still intend to do small miles at first and build up my strength as I go. As the saying goes "I'll let the trail come to me." That sounds easy now but I bet I'll get the more mileage bug as soon as some young athlete blows by me and says he is hiking 20+ miles each day. In order to not get caught up in the mileage vortex I've devised my own NEW math. The way I figure it if the person is 20 years old and he is hiking 20 miles a day he is accomplishing 400 year miles per day, now I'm 57 and if I go 10 miles a day I'm accomplishing 570 year miles a day or 170 more than the 20 year old. I rate my accomplishment higher due to my NEW math.Just 58 days until I start my journey.
Date: 2006-01-24
To: Flying High
Miles today: 0.0

Today I had one of the greatest thrills of my life. I was given a ride in an F-16 fighter jet for my 34 years of service to our unit. During our flight we pulled 5.5g, that was more than enough for me, it felt like the world was crushing in around me. At one point in or flight we traveled at a speed of mach .99 or about 732 mph. At that speed you would be able to travel the entire AT in three hours, you wouldn't see much or meet many people but you would go that distance.That reminds me my son is an airline pilot, he will be keeping track of the miles he will travel when I am on the AT. We'll compare our distance traveled at the end. I'm determined that my milage will be 2175, who knows how far he'll go.50 days and counting.
Date: 2006-02-24
To: Trail Name
Miles today: 0.0

I was going to wait until I given a Trail Name, but decided to give myself one instead. As I was brainstorming for a name I noticed the certificate I was given when I was inducted into our "Old Goat Society". This group of Old Goats consists of experienced Scout leaders. It is a local unofficial group that was started in our district to recognize Scouters who have been active many years, and most have stayed active long after their sons have grown and moved on. Each year one or two new members are inducted at our annual recognition dinner - it is an honor to be selected and inducted into The Old Goat Society. I am very proud and honored to be one. I expect to look like a true Old Goat with a few days beard anyway, so I might as well use the name. In the past my job required me to have a clean shave every day. I plan to grow a beard now that I am retired, well at least while I'm on the trail. The last time I grew a vacation beard I was amazed at how gray it was. That was a few years ago; I expect this beard will have even more gray.So from here on my trailname is "Old Goat."
Date: 2006-03-07
To: Mail Drops
Miles today: 0.0

I'm making my list and checking it ten thousand times. Well that is how many times it feels like! I already have someone wanting me to report what is the first item I realize I forgot, maybe I'll admit to it....maybe.Now that work is completely done and I'm really retired, I'm spending my days building my mail drops. I have a spreadsheet with the names of towns I expect to pick them up at, then I'm guessing how many days it will take to reach each town. I then build a package for the number of days I've guessed. When I speed up or slow down I'll call home and have quantities changed. We'll also arrange when to send the boxes out by how the progress is going. I'm sure we'll have glitches and missed boxes, reaching Post Offices on Sunday, etc. I'll have to adapt and improvise.One week from tonight I'll be at the HikerHostel in Dahlonega, Ga, and anxious to get started. It's hard to believe that it's almost here. Once I'm hiking I'll be fine; I know I'll grow into the life. Right now I worry about everything. I guess that is what Ray Jardine calls "Centering." You come around to what works for you and adapt to it.
Date: 2006-03-13
To: One Day To Departure
Miles today: 0.0

Today is Monday March 13th, I leave for Georgia in the early morning and if all goes well with my flights I¢ll be in Atlanta by 1 pm. I¢m getting a ride from the Atlanta area to near the trail. I spend my first night indoors at a hostel and they¢ll drive me to the trail the next morning. With breakfast, transportation, a one mile hike to the Appalachian Trail starting point, and meeting fellow hikers and getting pictures I should be hiking by noon.Offically the only miles that count are from there on. The hike up to Springer Mountain (the AT starting point) and any miles off the trail don¢t count. Off trail miles can be going into town, going to a shelter that is off trail or even going for water off trail. The official AT markings are a white stripe about 3 inch by 6 inch painted on a tree, post or whatever is available. A side trail to shelters, etc are the same size but painted blue. Every AT hiker refers to them as ¢White blaze or Blue blaze¢ when I¢m white blazing the miles count; all other types of hiking don¢t count.I would like to thank all the past thru hikers who have sent me emails with advice and encouragement. Your advice has been absorbed and used. Thank you.To my family who are concerned for my safety. I am sure I¢ll meet other hikers in the same situation I¢m in, we¢ll bond early and watch out for each other. I will be a member of a moving community, we¢ll see each other daily, and we¢ll help each other when needed.Thanks again and I¢ll keep you updated when I can.
Date: 2006-03-14
To: Day Almost 1
Miles today: 0.0

My trip to Atlanta started with a little extra anxiety. I was afraid that I might get bumped from the flight and I would end up in Atlanta later than expected. Luckily I did get on the flight and made the Newark connection too.Leaving my wife, Sue, was a lot harder than I expected. I've been away for months before so I thought this would be the same. It was not. The other times I went away for work related reasons, this time it was for something I want. I feel selfish because this is not a duty or something I have to do. I'm sorry, and I thank you, Sue, for being so supportive of all this. You are the best thing that ever happened to me. I will not forget one of the last things you said at the airport is that you want to see me complete my thru-hike all the way to Maine and you know I can do it. How can I fail with that kind of support.I would also like to thank my son, Chris, for getting me my flight and for meeting me at Newark Airport. It was great seeing you, and I appreciate you taking the time to do that. I look forward to hiking with you when I reach the NJ/NY area.The plane will be landing in Atlanta soon. It takes a lifetime to get to this stage of my life that I can do this, a day to travel to Springer and six months to complete this task. Wow I'm really doing this!I don't know when it will hit me that I'm really thru-hiking the AT, but when it does I'm sure it will be emotional. I'm guessing it will take about two weeks for this to feel different from other hikes I've taken. After all I've hiked that long many times.This posting is a little disjointed - a million things are going through my head right now. It's all nerves and I'm all keyed up. I'll probably be a zombie this evening because lack of sleep from all the anxiety last night will catch up to me.I'm nervous of what is about to begin. I've wanted to do this hike for a long time. I could say ever since my first backpacking experience in 1966. More accurately though, I really got the bug about 1991. I bought a book on "How to prepare to thru hike the AT," written by Frank and Victoria Logue. That was the first of a huge library I now own on the subject.I've taken the advice of each and adapted it to my style. I expect by the time I reach North Carolina my style will be different than it is today.Old Goat
Date: 2006-03-15
From: Springer Mtn.

To: Hawk Mtn Shelter, GA
Miles today: 7.6

We started the day at the HikerHostel - Josh and Leigh are excellent hosts. We were served a hearty breakfast of scrambled eggs, grits, pancakes, oj, and tea or coffee.After that Josh drove us up to the forest road trailhead which is on the AT at .9 miles. We backtracked to Springer to sign in and to insure we hiked every mile of the AT. I started Mar 15,2006 at 10:07 am.The hike today wasn¢t that hard, there were a few ups that taxed me but all in all I did fine. I arrived at 2:06pm and had to fight an urge to go on. I plan on 7 mile days this week to build up to more.I set up my tent and just relaxed the rest of the afternoon. I had a pilaf rice with beef and mixed vegetables that I made up at home. It turned out pretty good and the 1/3 cup of dehydrated beef and 1/3 cup veg really added to it. For desert I had instant chocolate pudding that really toped off the meal. I almost didn¢t make the pudding but didn¢t want to carry the weight tomorrow. I¢m glad I made it now.It¢s getting dark now, and when you¢re on the trail that means it¢s time for bed soon.Lots of love to all my family. Thank you for supporting me.Old Goat
Date: 2006-03-15
To: View Entry
Miles today: 0.0

A thought keeps coming up in my head. I don¢t know if I¢ve read it somewhere or if I came up with it, ¢There¢s a fine line between ultralight weight and unsafe. You don¢t know where it is until you¢ve put yourself in danger.¢What that is referring to is that everyone here on the trail is trying to cut down the weight of their pack. You hear dozens of ideas and comments about what you can get rid of. Personally I want to evaluate each day and see what those things are, if I don¢t use something I¢ll send it home. I already have a bag of things I intend to get rid of. I have three days until I can mail home; if I still feel the same then, they¢re gone.Day one was a lot of not knowing where things were. Every time I needed something it wasn¢t where I thought it was. I opened a lot of ditty bags until I found it. My hike started with cold hands because I couldn¢t find my gloves. I thought maybe I left them in the hostel or one of the guys in the room we shared picked them up {equipment looks alike}. They were where I put them - they had settled down into a crevice and I didn't see them. Then at lunch I couldn¢t find the can opener for my Deviled ham, I ended up eating crackers only. The whole day had little things to confuse me. I moved things now and I¢ll see if tomorrow is any better.Old Goat