morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2011-05-10
From: Greasy Creek Friendly 

To: Greasy Creek Friendly 
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: light rain

I want to say right off that I am not going home. I have been offered an opportunity to take a couple of weeks off the trail. Teach is definitely intending to return, but hiking without her has been completely joyless for me. I have decided to take a break from the hike, but again I'm not going home. I'm not going to be within a thousand miles of home. I WILL be back. But the last 60 miles hiking without Teach have been more difficult than I can describe. I didn't expect it to be this way. In my other life, I have always been very independent, but it's a whole different world out here and quite honestly I don't want to do it alone. So the plan is: when Teach is ready to return, we will meet at whatever point we decide to restart the trail from. We will probably skip ahead a few hundred miles. We can then hike to Kahtadin from there, so that we will be sure to get there before it closes, and after that we can return to finish the part we skipped. I'm sorry if anyone is unhappy with this decision, but it's my hike and Teach's hike, and we are going to do it in a way that makes us happy. I will provide daily updates so you don't have to wonder about us. I will also get my summer gear mailed to me and look at possibly getting a lighter pack. My pack empty weighs 5 pounds. Most important, I'm going that some time away from the trail will remind me of what made me so happy about hiking before. So that's it. I'll be back on the trail in a couple of weeks, and I still have until at least mid October. I'll keep you updated, and I hope that those who have been following my journal will continue to support me.
Date: 2011-05-14
From: Off the trail

To: Off the trail
Miles today: 0.0

I'm sorry I haven't gotten back sooner. In truth, I'm limited on what I can write. The people I'm staying with have asked not to be included in my journal. It makes it hard to say as much as I'd like to, but I have to respect their wishes since I am their guest. In the end, I suppose it doesn't matter. This journal is about my hike, what happens while I'm on my little vacation here isn't so important.My summer sleeping bag is being mailed to me. I also have a pair of trail runners coming. The trail runners are not Gortex, and I'm hoping my feet won't sweat so much in them. That's given me a lot of trouble as the weather has gotten warmer. Partly it's due to the thick Smartwool socks, so I'm sending them home too. For now I'm going with 2 pairs of cotton socks. That will also save some weight. I will probably also send home my winter clothing. Teach called me today. We've talked about where we might get back on the trail. It hasn't been nailed down yet, but we may start from Waynesboro and head into the Shenandoahs. That still leaves 1300 miles of the trail to do before        Katadhin closes in mid-October. After that, we can come back and do the part we missed. Or not. We want to measure this hike in experiences, not miles. I don't know how it will play out. We still have 5 months before Katadhin closes. Teach is going to a Cuban Fibre pack. It will weigh about 10 ounces. She's hoping to get her pack weight down to 15 pounds, which with the summer gear shouldn't be a problem. She still has some treatments to do on her back, so I can't say how long it will be before we hit the trail again. Hopefully in another 10 days or so. That's all I know for now. Until Teach is ready, I'll try to enjoy my little vacation here, but I'm starting to get fidgety. The trail is never far from my mind.
Date: 2011-05-23
From: Off the trail

To: Off the trail
Miles today: 0.0

Sorry I haven't gotten back sooner. I wanted to wait until I had something to report. Teach and I tried out or new packs yesterday. We went to a nearby park and hiked about 5 miles with them. We were both very happy with them. Teach got the okay from her chiropractor to return to the trail. We're planning on heading back to the on Friday. We'll start early and drive to Harper's Ferry. If we leave on Friday, we'll probably stay the night somewhere and start hiking Saturday morning. I mailed home my winter gear this morning. There's not much more to do now but wait. I'm looking forward to being back on the trail. This little vacation has been good, but it's time to get back to work.
Date: 2011-05-25
From: Off the trail

To: Harper's Ferry
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: broken clouds

First, I'd like to ask that my guestbook not be used as a means of communicating with other people. I will delete all entries that are not addressed specifically to me. I will also delete all entries of a suggestive nature about Teach and me. I believe I have been very clear about the kind of relationship I have with Teach. I will not tolerate rude or suggestive entries.Teach and I are headed to Harper's Ferry to restart our hike. We probably won't get there until 4 pm or so, so we'll stay the night and get started hiking again Friday morning. Thank God. I've been going crazy being off the trail so long. There will be no more vacations from the trail. We'll still take zeroes when we want to, but I won't leave the trail again until my hike is done. My intentions are to hike the 1200 miles to Kahtadin this year, and then come back next year to do the 650 miles we skipped this year, if my work will allow me a three month leave of absence next spring. That would still give me a total of 1500 miles hiked this year, which I think is a respectable number. So that's it. My next entry will be from Harper's Ferry.
Date: 2011-05-26
From: Harper's Ferry

To: Harper's Ferry
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: clear sky

Well, I just spent 30 minutes typing a long entry just to have it get zapped when I tried to save it. Some sort of little bug or something. It's late and I don't feel like typing it all again, so let's just summarize.Teach and I are in Harper's Ferry. We both ended up buying brand new shoes here in town. Because of that and also because we're a little out of shape from being off the trail for a couple of weeks, we're going to take it easy the next few days. Our next town stop is 40 miles up the trail at Waynesboro, PA. I'm very happy to be back on the trail again. We'll start tomorrow morning. I don't know how good of a signal I'm going to get in these parts, so I'll post entries when I can.
Date: 2011-05-27
From: Harper's Ferry

To: Rocky Run Shelter
Miles today: 16.3
Weather: overcast clouds

So much for taking it easy. Teach and I ended up doing 16.3 miles our first day. That's or longest day yet. We stayed at the Comfort Inn because the hotel in town was full. We took or packs up to the ATC Headquarters to get them weighed, but were annoyed to discover that the home of the Appalachian Trail Conservancy expects you to weigh your pack on a bathroom scale. That's all they have. I thought that was kind of ridiculous. We got started about 8:30 am Friday morning. The first 3 miles out of town were on a completely level gravel road, which was a novel experience. The terrain in these parts is much more gentle than it was in the south. It got very tricky by the end of the day, though. We'll be in Pennsylvania soon, and the rocks have already started. I had a pair of trail runners mailed from home, bit once I tried them on I noticed that the souls were fairly soft. I didn't want to try to spend the next couple of weeks climbing over sharp rocks with soft soles, so I bought a pair of Vasques at the outfitter in town. Teach decided to replace her shoes as well. We were only going to do 10 miles, but the trail to the shelter was poorly marked and we missed it. Once we realized, we were a half mile past it. The next shelter was less than 5 miles ahead and it was only 4:30 so we decided to keep going. We were both exhausted by the time we made it. We may do low miles tomorrow if we're still tired. We'll see how it goes.
Date: 2011-05-28
From: Rocky Run Shelter

To: Pine Knob Shelter
Miles today: 7.5
Weather: light rain

It started raining about thirty minutes after we got to the shelter last night. Rocky Run Shelter is the nicest shelter we've seen yet. It was built last year. I had intended to tent, but with the rain coming I decided to take advantage of the shelter. We woke up to a beautiful morning. We were both very sore and tired from the long day yesterday, so we just took it easy today. We came to a highway and out of the blue decided to hitch into town and get a burger. There was a parking area there and the first person we asked gave is a ride into town. We ate at a local diner and had a good time and then the grandson of the woman that owns the diner drove us back to the trail.We paid today for the big day yesterday in new shoes. Our feet were pounding all day. We ended up just doing 7.5 miles today. The miles aren't important, though. We've got lots of time and we just want to enjoy ourselves. The terrain here is much easier than in the south, but it's still hard. We're both homesick, but we're going to stick it out as long as we're enjoying ourselves.
Date: 2011-05-29
From: Pine Knob Shelter

To: Smithsburg, MD
Miles today: 8.0

I'm sorry for those who have been following my journal, but I have decided to end my AT hike for the year. It was a very hard decision. I haven't been enjoying myself lately, and there were other things that happened that made me finally decide to go home.For those who might be disappointed in me, try not to judge me too harshly. I started the trail ate 320 pounds and hiked 400 miles. That's not bad. I admit to being wrong about some things. I was sure that I would be one of the 10% that make it to Maine and I was wrong. I was sure that homesickness wouldn't get to me and I was wrong. I don't feel though that I failed. I gave it my best. And I didn't quit on a rainy day. I'm not going to quit hiking. But I kind of like the idea of backpacking for a week or so and then being able to come back to the comforts of home. And I can say that after 400 miles on the trail I have gained a new respect for anyone who is able to complete the entire trail. I left the trail at Smithsburg,MD. I hiked the first 364 miles of the trail, and 31 miles more from Harper's Ferry. I don't regret my decision. I did what was right for me. I'd like to thank those people who have supported me, and to remind them that this its not the end of my hiking career. I'm just going to take some shorter trips for now. I don't really know what else to say. I think I'll just leave it at this for now, and maybe I'll add an entry to my journal from time to time in my future hikes. For now, Thanks and goodbye.
Date: 2011-03-21
To: 1 week to go!
Miles today: 0.0

This time next week I will be on a plane to Georgia, figure it is about time to start my journal. I got the last few items I needed yesterday at REI, signed up for health insurance this morning, and have someone coming to look at my room to sublet tonight. Everything seems to be falling into place. The last few months have been really stressful. MY anxiety has been building but I know as soon as I set foot on the trail everything will be fine. I am lucky enough to have my friend Thomas, aka Wonderland who hiked SOBO last year, start me off the first few days...my first Trail Angel! My co-workers, friends, and family have also been a great help and support over the last few weeks, I cannot thank everyone enough! I hope it rains tonight so I can practice setting up my hammock in the rain. I've tested the rest of my gear out and feel really confident with it all. These next few days are either going to fly by or take forever. I want both!
Date: 2011-03-23
To: Up and Down
Miles today: 0.0

Falling asleep last night I thought, wow only 6 more nights in my bed. I woke up this morning to some serious discomfort in my eye. Went to the doctors and found out its pink eye! Seriously, I've never had pink eye in my life and I get it NOW?! What a bummer, I've got eye drops for the next 7 days and have to wear my glasses...great way to start the trail. I know this isn't the worst thing that can happen, but it sure feels like it is. As I was heading back to work (its my going way party today, i can't take a sick day!) I get an email from a girl who will commit to sublet my room for the next 6 months. What a relief! I don't have to worry about paying rent while I am gone Now it seems most things are taken care of. Enough with these ups and downs happening in my life, I'm really looking forward to the phsyical ups and downs of the mountains.
Date: 2011-03-24
To: last day at work!
Miles today: 0.0

Today is my last day at the office...tomorrow I will technically be working, but I get to volunteer at Homes for the Troops where my company is helping to build a home for an injured soldier. We had a really nice going away happy hour last night. It was so nice to see how many people came to say bye. I just need to think of this as a really long vacation so I don't miss everyone. The pink eye has now spread to my other eye...I really hope this clears up before Tuesday, I would hate for my trail name to be Pink Eye! I really have a lot to do to get ready...make sure I have everyone's phone number and address, clean out my desk...wait I guess that's it. I just feel overwhelmed. I get to lay and run my last hasher trail tonight too, saying good bye to all those crazy people will be fun. I hope everyone already out on the trail is having the time of their lives, I can't wait to meet and join you. I'll see you all in the future.
Date: 2011-03-28
To: the night before Georgia
Miles today: 0.0

So many thoughts are racing through my head right now. I really want to sleep, i know I need to sleep, yet it's 3:45 am and I'm writing this. My bag is all packed. There are just a few last things to do in the morning before my friend picks me up at noon to head to the airport. I'll arrive in Atlanta where my friend will pick me up for the evening and we will head out early tuesday morning to tackle Springer. Looks like it will be raining the first 4 days of my hike, bring it on! I am as prepared as I'll ever be, I definitely have too much food, I'll miss all of my friends and family...thanks for coming to celebrate with me last night. See the rest of you out on the trail!
Date: 2011-03-29
From: Springer Mountain

To: Stover Creek Shelter
Miles today: 2.8
Weather: clear sky

Had a good sleep at Wonderland's house last night, got to the parking lot near Springer about 1pm today. Wonderland hiked up Springer with me and back down before he had to go back home. He has been a life saver in getting me this far, don't know how I would have done it without him.Mountain Squid was in the parking lot greeting everyone with snacks, I gave him my name and said I was thru-hiking. About 20 others had already gone by today with 28 more or so the day before, I knew the trail would be crowded but didn't really expect this many. Went to the first shelter I came to since it was getting later in the day than I had planned on. Stover Creek was a nice 2 story loft shelter. there was already an older couple there and a guy named Bill (i had seen Bill on top of Springer, he came up the Approach trail). Later on 2 other guys came by but they set up hammocks. There was already one guy laying in the shelter, appearently he was sick and possibly had hypothermia. There was some bad rain the night before I guess he got stuck in, but really, we're 2.8 miles in, how are you that unprepared?! We tired to have a small fire but it was tough with wet wood. Got ready for bed and went to hang my bear bag (food sack). I clipped it to the cord and ran it up, then went to clip the other end back to the tree and realized it wouldn't reach. I tired to run the bag back down and it was stuck! I was embarassed- I got my food stuck the first night, now I won't have food the next few days. I clipped it on to the other line and figure I will deal with it in the morning. What a great first day.
Date: 2011-03-30
From: Stover Creek Shelter

To: Gooch Mountain Shelter
Miles today: 12.3
Weather: moderate rain

It rained all night and it drizzled all day. At least I got my food bag down without asking for help. I don't know what I was thinking setting out for over 12 miles my second day...Bill said he was going to Gooch Mtn and I guess I wanted to keep up so off I went. It was a nice hike, a bit tiring but I'm still so excited. Lots of green! I even saw 2 army men on Justus Mountain. I heard they do a lot of training and such around these parts. Got to the shelter late afternoon, there were about 15 others there but thankfully they made a spot for me in the shelter. Everyone was real friendly but we didnt stay up too late to talk. I slept at the foot of everyone on the first level, got kinda wet from the rain blowin in over night and didn't sleep too well, I thought I would roll off the shelter for sure. Glad no one stepped on me.
Date: 2011-03-31
From: Gooch Mountain Shelter

To: Woods Hole Shelter
Miles today: 11.9
Weather: broken clouds

Fairly easy hike today, finally got some nice views since it wasn't so misty. Saw lots of that Georgia red clay. Hiked mostly with Brett- retired FBI guy from Atlanta, and Milo- 20-something from Richmond who was at the Old Crow show I went to down there as well as at Gogol Bordello show in Baltimore I was at! cool. It was nice to actually hike along with someone even though they are a bit faster than I am. We came to Woody Gap and had our first trail magic! Someone put oranges along the trail and then in the parking lot was Gordon. He is following a guy named Troll and he had gaderade and pop and chairs! We got so excited it took us a moment to turn around and see the amazing view! Brett took my picture in front of it (major benifit of hiking with someone!). Got to the shelter and this one only slept 7 and it was already full. This is my first night to set up my hammock. It was starting to get cold and someone was reading the shelter log and noticed the last 5 nights or so bears have been by to try and get food and last night they were successful! Great...I feel/look like a hanging food bag in my hammock and I set up about 20 feet from the bear bags, I hope I don't wake to hear them! At the shelter were the rest of the crew from Gooch Mtn, Christine, Seth, Dave, Nette, Bill, Moon Watcher to name a few. We decided to name Seth=Click Boom and Christine=Little Bird. Old School was section hiking with his little girl Snipe. We had a fire and some laughs then went to bed. Please no bears!
Date: 2011-04-01
From: Woods Hole Shelter

To: Neels Gap
Miles today: 3.7
Weather: clear sky

I woke up soooooo cold this morning, my feet fell off my sleeping pad so they were the coldest. Crack Boom said it was 28 degrees in the morning so it was probably about 24 degrees over night! It was tough packing up too with cold fingers but at least I didn't wake up to the 2 bears that came by last night. Yep, 2 bears were trying to get our food bags but luckily someone who was tenting near the bags heard them and shined his light and they ran away. Appearently they came by twice but had no luck! Also, my eyes are gross and I think my pink eye has returned. I wish I could go home right now but no one will pick me up from here, I'll have to walk out.Short walk today up and over Blood Mountain, what a climb! It was worth it though with such a great view near the shelter. I hiked up alone, Troll pasted me so I got to meet him Met up with some of the others at the top, Nette took my picture, thanks! Hiked down with Milo, Dave, and Nette and we all managed to get off trail and hike down this steep rock! (found out later that Seth, Troll, and others missed it too so we don't feel so bad!). Got to Neels Gap and the hostel there sounded so nice we got beds for the night. Plus, Wonderland is coming out for the weekend! As much as I wanted to go home this morning, the nice day and the company reminded me that I do like it out here. I got a shower, did laundry, and bought way too much food at teh outfitter. Wonderland came by about 730 (our usual bedtime!) with a case of PBR, woo! We hung out pretty late, Nette spun fire- reminds me of back home in DC
Date: 2011-04-02
From: Neels Gap

To: Low Gap Shelter
Miles today: 10.8
Weather: broken clouds

Had the outfitter do a shake down of my pack, they got rid of about 5lbs of weight and readjusted my straps so it feels much more comfortable. I'm at about 38lbs with 4-5 days of food and 3L of water. I'm happy with that. Hiked with Wonderland to Low Gap, it was a long day and he walks so much faster than I do (he just completed the AT south bound 5 months ago so he still has his stride). Had some nice views and was quite tired when we got to the shelter. Everyone was already there but they kindly made room for me in the shelter, Wonderland set up his tent by the stream. We sat at the picnic table and drank a bottle of Jameson and Jager with Gumby, Bubbles, and Arrow. I got my name, Yinz. I hope to have everyone speaking just a bit of Pittsburghese before I leave. Dave is now Last Minute and Nette is Spins. Heard that its supposed to storm Monday night (hail and tornado warnings) so we plan to book it into Hiawassee the next few days.
Date: 2011-04-03
From: Low Gap Shelter

To: Cheese Factory Site
Miles today: 13.0

It was so nice out today, I got some sunburn...mostly on my right arm though. Its nice hiking with Wonderland caz I am motivated to keep up. I saw a small snake on the rocks, first real wildlife I've seen other than squirrels. We got to Unicoi Gap and met up with everyone. The last down hill to the parking lot seemed to take forever. It was taunting me because I could see everyone and the road but the trail just kept switching back and forth but finally I was on pavement (what a strange feeling). Everyone decided to push on to Tray Mountain Shelter while Wonderland and I hitched into Helen to see his friend and so he can meet up with his wife since he has to go back to work tomorrow.Helen is a cool town, it has Bavian style buildings and even a horse and buggy. I'm sad I forgot to take pictures here. We went to the Hayloft to see his thru hiking buddy, Gregg. All hikers should stop in Helen, it is a very cool place. Also go to the Helen's Country Kitchen where they have a cheap hiker breakfast!I'm sad Wonderland is no longer hiking with me, he and his wife dropped me off to Bule blaze up Indian Grave trail about 7pm, it was getting dark and I knew I didn't have time to get over Rocky Mtn in time. I got into camp when it was dark, it was fun and scary hiking alone in the dark! I set up my hammock as quiet as I could and fell right asleep.