morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2006-04-14
From: Hogback Ridge

To: Spivey Gap
Miles today: 14.7
Weather: broken clouds

Not long after too long after getting on the trail to day I came upon a wonderful trail magic setup with a huge tent and food galore. The cook was Readneck who I met at Standing Bear Hostel. When asked if I could eat some breakfast I said I would sure try. Next thing I knew I had a plate loaded with home fries, pancakes, eggs. Then I got all the Gatorade I could drink and enough to fill my water bottle before leaving. I managed to eat not only that but a second big pancake. What a pleasure that was! I left in a short time with greatly lifted spirits. I took a long break with no need to eat lunch at Flint Mountain Shelter. There was a bunch of guys there all raving about the trail magic. They were all intent on making today a twenty miler or more, with some wanting to go all the way to Erwin for a 26.9 mile day. I was nursing numerous blisters so I had nothing in common with them at this point. However I did want to make it to Erwin tomorrow so it meant continuing on for some distance. I decided on Spivey Gap because it would make today about a 15 mile day and left only about 11 for tomorrow.I arrived at Spivey gap in time for a relaxed evening meal and some solitary camping for the night. Right about at dark along came a couple of young guys who joined me. I was in my sleeping bag and ready for sleep but they made a general ruckus for over an hour. We were up at 5:00 AM in the morning to head on.
Date: 2006-04-15
From: Spivey Gap

To: Erwin, Tenn
Miles today: 11.2
Weather: broken clouds

Today started out at 6:00 AM hiking with my headlamp. That was a first for me. Most of the first mountain, which was a long hard climb, was in the dark. It was a joy to hike through the dawn of a new day. Shortly, however things began to change for the worse. My feet were fast approaching total agony. I had to make a number of stops along the way to patch blisters. I was overjoyed to see Erwin in the distance, but it seemed like I was making little progress in reaching it. I kept reaching new overlooks but still not dropping down to exit the woods. By the time I finally reached the road my feet were really hard to hobble along on. I stuck out my thumb for a couple of cars but they waved and kept on going. I began to walk toward town and came to an intersection and made a right to a road with more traffic, but the same was true. They just waved and kept on going. I hobbled for about a mile when a guy pulled over and picked me up. It was a local I had met on top of the last mountain and was telling him how bad my feet were. He said if he saw me on the road when he came down he'd give me a ride into town. He made good on his promise and took me right into the driveway at Miss Janet's House. She was in the van getting ready to take a bunch out for Pizza but jumped out to welcome me an tell me to go in and get a shower and take care of my needs and that she would be back shortly. The hospitality there is legend I can see why. In less then a minute it is clear to see how genuine and caring she is.Not too long after I got showered and changed along came Rosie with Ashley and Michelle to pick me up and take me home where I could whine about my feet.I wisely got a call out to her from back on the trail so she could be on the way here so quickly. What a break. It seems time to make some decisions. What next? I originally planned to maybe take one zero day here to attend the famed Easter Sunday Dinner, but here I am going home. Stay tuned.
Date: 2006-04-20
From: Erwin, Tenn

To: View Entry
Miles today: 0.0

Well, here I am still home. But, I went to Mountain Crossings today and returned the Salomon shoes that caused all the blisters and got a pair of Montrails that Winton thinks will do the job. The blisters are now all healed but I have a little timing issue. Rosie reserved a bed and breakfast for trail days in Damascus, Va. If I go on the trail now I will arrive too early in Dasmascus. So I will spend some time here hiking the trail from Springer through GA, therefore bringing that section into this current years hike. Remember that I started at Wayah Gap this year. That way I avoid losing conditioning while waiting to get back to the trail in Tennessee.ADDENDUM:I hiked a bit of the Zell Miller Trail to test out the new shoes. So far so good. Maybe tomorrow I'll catch a nearby section of the trail as a day hike for a further test.
Date: 2006-04-25
To: View Entry
Miles today: 0.0

Still working at breaking in the new Montrail shoes. I've been hiking all the little sections in GA that I didn't hike in early spring when I was getting ready for the hike. Yesterday I went after a small section from Tray mountain to Addis Gap. I started from Tray Gap where I left my Jeep thinking I would hike over to Addis Gap and back for 13.2 miles, but along the way I changed my mind and went stright thru to Dick's Creek Gap for 11.7 miles. I figured I would have no trouble hitch hiking into town and having Rosie drive me over to get the Jeep. I was very wrong. I couldn't get a ride and decided to walk toward town. Finally after going quite a way toward town I was able to get a cell phone signal and contacted Rosie to pick me up. I thought Hiawassee was a hiker friendly town. I must look real bad to be unhitch-hikeable. ( Like that new word?) A Florida car with dayhikers drove into the parking area and tried to get a cell phone signal. They actually spoke to me than got in the car and drove back toward town without giving me a ride!On the bright side, I met Preacher Dude doing trail magic at Addis Gap. He had a couple of large tents setup and was cooking food for hikers. He has to walk a half mile down to his car to resupply and get water. This definately requires a conciderable effort to accomplish. Kudos to him. By the way, anyone hiking north thru the area should not stop at Sassafrass Gap for a break because it's less than a mile to trail magic and it's worth the wait. He said he will be there for a couple of more weeks. He does not differenciate between thru hikers and any others. If you are hiking it's good enough for him.When I finish all of GA I will just enter one milage entry to update my total milage to date. That will only leave me with the piece from Bly Gap to Wayah Gap to do in NC, then all of the milage up to Erwin will be hiked this year.So far the new shoe are doing well by me. My next step will be to add a full Pack. I may do that when I hike the 30 miles from Springer to Neel's Gap.
Date: 2006-04-26
To: View Entry
Miles today: 0.0

Today I set out to hike the small 2.2 mile section from Chattahoochee Gap to Blue Mountain Shelter. But, you guessed it, you can't just drive up and park at either end. The nearest access is from Rt. 180 at the intersection of the road to Brasstown Bald. I parked there and hiked up Jack's Knob trail 2.4 miles to Chattahoochee Gap. The hike over to the shelter and back was fairly easy. While at the shelter I met thru hikers Whispers and Groundhog who are both experianced hikers. Groundhog has done all of the trail before in sections. Whispers has done about half also in sections. When I returned to Chattahoochee Gap I just had to take the .5 mile side trail to the spring that is considered to be the source of the Chattahoochee River. Once there I took a long cool drink and a number of photos to record the "event". All together it was a 10.2 mile hike to bring that 2.2 mile section into this calendar year.That finishes the little chunks of Georgia and leaves the 30.5 mile hike from Springer to Neel's gap. I'm not sure how I will approach this, either two 15 mile day hikes or backpack it and spend a night or two camped out. The backpacking option would be a good final test on the new shoes bringing me to over 60 miles on them.
Date: 2006-04-29
To: View Entry
Miles today: 75.4

Today I have added in 75.4 miles representing the milage from Springer to Bly Gap in NC. On Thursday I hiked about 20 miles from Springer to Woody Gap and on Friday morning another 10 miles on into Neel's Gap with a full backpack which completes all of the trail thru GA repeated this year. This two days milage with pack proves to me that the new Montrail shoes have passed the test and since they now have well over 50 miles on them either they or I have been broken in. Enough said about shoes. Next I will repeat the milage from Bly Gap to Wayah Gap in NC which will mean that I have hiked all the trail from Springer to Erwin, Tenn in this year. That is a total of 338.7. Then on back to Erwin and all points north. I would now like to hike up to Damascus, Virginia by Trail Days. Damascus is at 459.5 miles. Reflecting back on the trail in GA. I would have to say it was pretty easy compared to some sections of North Carolina and Tennessee. The GA hikes were a pleasure due to the weather and the flowers now in bloom. On Friday I saw whole mountain sides totally covered with white and pink trillium. The umbrella like May Apples are now in bloom along with many others. This is the time to be hiking in GA. When I get back on in Erwin I expect to see the same up there before I reach Damascus. Two springs in one year for me, neat.
Date: 2006-05-03
To: Back to Erwin and north
Miles today: 0.0

Tomorrow I headout for Erwin TN in the Jeep. I've loaded enough supplies to make a thru hike to Damascus VA but I'm hoping to be able to break it up with some slackpacking. Maybe I can run into someone up there willing to leapfrog cars ahead to arrange dayhikes for part of it. We will see. Stay tuned. Oz
Date: 2006-05-05
From: Erwin, Tenn

To: Indian Grave Gap
Miles today: 8.3
Weather: light rain

Arrived at Uncle Johnnies in Erwin today. Arranged a slack pack trip and the driver took me to Indian Grave Gap in my Jeep and returned to town. I hiked in sometime later and pitched a tent in the back yard. That worked pretty well. This is a real nice place. It is clean and neat. Rained over night but no problem.
Date: 2006-05-06
From: Indian Grave Gap

To: Iron Mountain Gap
Miles today: 10.8
Weather: broken clouds

Today I followed the shuttle van out to Indian Grave gap and left the Jeep and continued to Iron Mountain Gap and hiked back to the Jeep at Indian Grave Gap. I made it back quite early and missed a downpour although it was showering a few times along way. That was a break. The tent survived the storm without a drop of water inside. I slept in the tent again for the night.
Date: 2006-05-07
From: Carver's Gap

To: Zero Day
Miles today: 0.0

Because I was unable to arrange further hikes out of Erwin, Tenn with Uncle Johnnie or Miss Janet I called Greasy Creek Friendly and they agreed to do a shuttle for me. I left early in the day and hung out at the Greasy Creek Friendly. They call it a Friendly because they are not hostel....get it? This was a nice place due to the hospitality and good food. It rained early in the day and again most of the night.
Date: 2006-05-08
From: Iron Mountain Gap

To: Carver's Gap
Miles today: 14.0

Got a ride to Carver's Gap and hiked back to the hostel. Then they ran me up to Iron Mountain and I hiked back again. The two hikes were required to cover that section because they indicated that if I parked the Jeep at Iron Mt. and hiked to it I would find it trashed by the local talent. The broken glass all over the ground was an indicator that it was very probable. Roan High was different in that it looked like a rain forest. The ground was covered with moss and it went quite a way up all the fir trees. It was misty and quiet beneath the trees. Hiking south was a lot easier than it would have been going north but I'll make up for that.There were no views due to the haze. Another uneventful hike chalked up. This getting to be a trend.
Date: 2006-05-09
From: Carver's Gap

To: Rt 19E at Roan Mt.
Miles today: 13.7

Mountain Harbor Bed and Breakfast shuttle took me to Carver's gap and I hiked back.That was 13.7 on the trail and .3 miles down to the hostel. 14 miles in 5 1/2 hours is reasonable time. I walked over a number of mountains and 4 balds in dense fog. What a drag. One highlight was when in 30 feet of visibility on the last bald I walked right into a group of Longhorn cattle. Wow! They are really big!But other than that the hike was really boring. I decided to head on home.I jumped in the Jeep went up to the first diner and had something to eat and boogied on home by about 7:00 in the evening. I have decided to bag the thru hike.It has become too much trouble in terms of the logistics and too expensive for shuttles, hostels and food. I've become bored with the same ups and downs every day and have decided to call it a section hike. I may get back on and finish up to Damascus VA. We will see. I've realized that all I have been doing is trying to get it over with, that is just put the miles on with little interest in the hike. I enjoy hiking with a purpose, like enjoying someones company, taking photos and seeing special places but not just walking all day to get the miles done. Bringing the Jeep up there was definately a mistake. The shuttles and slackpacking didn't work well and cost way too much. All that and missing family and friends. I will continue hiking, but not thru hiking. I really didn't SEE the places I hiked through. I noted many places I'd like to return to so I could really see and to take pictures when the weather was right and to camp and enjoy. This would beat just blazing through in the rain and fog.
Date: 2005-12-12
To: End of Semester
Miles today: 0.0

First off I want to say that I¢m not a very good writer and that this is for me, but I am sharing it with you. Family, friends, hiking community, whoever, feel free to read but be warned that I tend to ramble. So where do I begin with all of this? So much of it is just cooped up in me I really have no idea where to begin saying stuff in a coherent, logical manner. Why do I want to do this? Why do I want to delay schooling and take a semester off to walk to Maine and become Grizzly Adams? The change of pace certainly couldn¢t hurt. Even though I¢ve only gone to college two and a half years and haven¢t entered the real world yet I feel as though I¢ve already entered the rat race that the majority of people enter, living a ho-hum life day after day with the same normal and boring things. I want to have a change of pace, of scenery and get out there so I can accomplish those things. 2) I feel I¢ve never been challenged. I really and truly feel that I have never been challenged and this is one of the best ways I can think of to challenge myself. Whenever I decided I wanted to hike this, I was some inexperienced greenhorn, think I know a little. I may know a little more about hiking and a whole lot more about the AT, but I¢m still a inexperience greenhorn not really knowing. This can really and truly challenge me unlike anything I¢ve done before. How will I be able to handle the physical abuse over an extended period? The mental struggles accompanying the stresses and stains on the body? The emotional aspect, having thoughts to self all day and being alone? The intellectual, making the right decisions when I am presented with different options? Physically, I like to think I¢m in relatively good shape but I know better than that. I really need to work on this before starting so it doesn¢t kick my ass to start with. I need to have all the advantages/strengths I can when I start and being fit is key. But nothing has really challenged me here. Never done marathon, long-distance hikes, etc. before. Mentally I¢ve been fairly stable. Have had ups and downs but nothing that can¢t be remedied by comforts of home. Ditto for emotionally. Intellectually I¢ve never been challenged either. School is so much different than this is. Besides the fact that classes have never been hard, except my freshman English class with Dr. Silver, they are so predictable in testing methods and in content. All one has to do is study two hours the day before, rather than doing the work all along, to ace it. The AT I¢m not gonna know what it¢ll throw my way. I won¢t know how it¢ll test me and over what. Pretty difficult I¢d say, not knowing anything on the test but having to pass it.        And when else am I going to be able to do this? I have the money now. After graduating and getting a job, family one can¢t abandon that just because I want to go to Maine. Additionally, what have I done this is adventurous or an accomplishment? Nothing too good I can think of and certainly nothing of this magnitude. C) It¢ll be fun, cool.
Date: 2006-02-23
To: View Entry
Miles today: 0.0

      I¢m so ready to go. All I want to do is load my pack up and start right now; why¢d I have to pick a date so far away to start? Really though, it isn¢t far away at all. Ever since I¢ve been thinking of this it hasn¢t been realistic for me to look forward to my starting date because it has be so far off. I¢ve gotten to the point where my mind is stuck in that line of thought but really it is just eight of nine short weeks away and I do need to think about leaving and focusing on my departure. All I know is that all I¢ll be thinking about is the trail.         And I need a haircut.
Date: 2006-02-24
To: Clock is Ticking
Miles today: 0.0

      So it¢s what, 12 days until I leave? I still feel super underprepared, but no matter how much planning I do I think I¢d feel that way. That and the fact that I¢m not the most organized person, so for many of the details and logistics I¢m just going to wing it, go with the flow when I get there. I still have to buy food for my mail drops, if that tells you anything on the planning I¢ve done. But I¢m doing minimal (maybe four or five) mail drops, so shopping for food in the next few days should be no biggie.       I¢ve really taken to a laissez-faire attitude on conditioning. I try to do cardio but really don¢t really see the improvement, so I really don¢t care that I haven¢t followed a regular routine. I will probably regret this later. My mind says that it won¢t be a problem for me, doing small miles in the beginning, maybe 8-15/day the first week or two. Hopefully my body and feet agree with my mind. If not, I¢ll learn how much I like pain.      And my Mom came through big time today. I did not have a camera yet, but definitely wanted to take one, and we had been talking about some different models I could take with me. After supper at Caritos, aka Carolina¢s, the best Mexican around, she surprised, shocked me with a camera. Sweetness, the last real concern I had about my gear is now gone.      Wow, my hair is the longest it has been in a while.
Date: 2006-02-26
To: 10 Days...
Miles today: 0.0

FB: I can't stop eating. I eat because I'm unhappy, and I'm unhappy because I eat. It's a vicious cycle. ¢from Austin Powers            I¢m in the vicious cycle too, but not for long. Because of the fact that all I think about is the trail, when I talk to other people, that subject usually comes up because as I said, the trail is all I think about. But for everyone I can think of (save one person), all the conversation consists of is the basics. I¢m so sick of talking about the basics of the trail; Where will I get food? Water? Where do I sleep? How long will it take me? How long is it? How many states do I go through? Where does it start/end? Who am I going with? Are you carrying a cell phone? What to do when a bear attacks? A snake? There are mice out there?! Showers? Laundry? And on and on. I was talking to one of my online AT buddies recently about this and she is in the cycle too. Wanting to talk AT to anyone who will listen, but having to endure talking only the basics again and again. I sound way more perturbed than I really am about this though. The bottom line is that I¢m happy to talk about the trail and educate others about it with the knowledge I¢ve gathered about the AT. Not very long ago though, I too was someone knowing virtually nothing about the trail and I know I asked the basics of people who then had to explain them to me. It all evens out I guess. I¢m just itching to go. Have a serious case of Springer Fever      And I actually dreamed about the AT last night. Not like the figurative dream of hiking the AT or of your dream house, but an actual dream. I only had like 3/4s of my gear and freaked out because I forgot my sleeping bag, and then I woke up.
Date: 2006-03-07
To: Right Now, 8 Hours Till Liftoff
Miles today: 0.0

Holy cow this is crazy. It is finally time to go, and I¢m still not ready. I¢ve been running around like a chicken with its head cut off today doing stuff, and I¢m still not finished. Oh well, I¢m a procrastinator and am used to this. Somehow it just wouldn¢t feel right if I was just relaxing. I get the stuff done when it needs to be done, not before. For instance my maildrops¢¦I went about a week and a half ago (and to some people that is late!) to get all my food stuff for my drops. Tonight (yes, tonight) I¢m boxing my three maildrops up and realize I don¢t have enough food. So at 8:30 (10 hours before liftoff) I make a food run, no biggie. Like I said, I get things done when they need to be done.       Don¢t let all this lack of preparation fool you though, I am still pumped about getting started, itching (my new favorite word as of three days ago) to go. I am just not a big fan of logistics and times. Who cares what time I need to leave tomorrow from my house to get to Amicalola so I can start hiking ¢on time¢?       Meanwhile, I¢ve gained a good six pounds over the last week or so which I¢m proud of. Now I¢m up to a whopping 151 (I know you don¢t care what I weigh, but I¢m interested to compare it to my finishing weight). I know I¢ll lose it pretty quickly and my body will be ravenous, trying to eat anything it can. Lets just hope the AYCEs stay open until I get there.       So about this journal and how it¢ll be updated¢¦. I¢m going to keep a daily journal and snail mail it back to my brother, PJ, who will then in turn transcribe it for me and post it. I also imagine I¢ll have some sort of internet access when I¢m gone, so I¢ll post some periodic updates from the trail itself, but mostly it¢ll be PJ typing them up for me. So it¢ll be delayed however long it takes me to get to a post office, mail them, and him to type up. Just imagine that you are reading the previous day¢s journal, then you can be there with me (yeah right, I¢ll actually be scorching up the trail and be long gone from the day you are reading about).       So tomorrow it is. Hopefully my lack of training of any sort will be beneficial for me, resting my muscles and joints rather than tiring them before I even get out on the trail. Last time sleeping in my bed won¢t be so bad, I mean, 3/8¢ of foam between me and a hard shelter surface or rough campsite will feel like bliss after a hard day of hiking. Later.