morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2000-01-14
To: View Entry
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: few clouds

Well, I guess I am in the final countdown now. 0 months and 31 days. I would be lying if I said I am ready. I do want to start already, but I am nervous and still have so much left to do at home. Although, I do have all my gear in order. I made a major gear change last week. Tamara bought me a new pack for my birthday. I will be keeping the Golite Jam as a backup in case I don¢t like this one or it fails at some point, but now I will be carrying a ULA Circuit. It seems like it fits me better. I went to Little River Trading Co. in Maryville, TN and spent a couple of hours with Bert AKA Wildcat and he fitted me. He completed the AT a few years ago and is a great resource as well as an awesome guy. My torso length fell in the range of med and large. So we tried them both. LRTC has these bags of marbles they add for weight along with tents and sleeping bags so you can feel it loaded. It looks a little smaller than the Jam, but it feels better on. I have been reading the trail journals of the people that are on the trail already and also the ones of the people that I think I will be hiking with at least for a while. Am I the only one that is doing that? I haven¢t thought much about mail drops, but I decided that I will set up a few. Not really just food, but some other things I will want along the trail. I dehydrated last year¢s apple crop and it is divided into 50 or so vacuum sealed bags. I would also want to include some spices, fresh socks, change out my ipod, vitamins, as well as a few other things I may need that may not be so easy to get along the trail. A few months back, some of my friends were all about coming and joining me on the trail for a weekend at various places. Now I am beginning to think I shouldn¢t count on them so I will put the boxes together just in case. Going to the post office is a lot easier than going to VA. I have come to realize I can¢t finish everything I planned on doing at home before I leave so I made a list of things and listed them in order of importance. As long as the weather holds, I might get the roof on the tractor shed, put a water line to the horses upper pasture, prune the fruit trees, prepare the asparagus beds and get the mower and tractor ready for summer. Oh, I forgot¢¦ATKO next week. I guess I better get busy, I have lots to do in 31 days.
Date: 2013-10-03
To: View Entry
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: moderate rain

Well, it looks as if a random suggestion from my hiking partner/girlfriend is transforming into a journey I have dreamed of many time while hiking in the Smokies just a few miles from my home town of Maryville, TN. Yes! I am planning on joining the others that are heading out in the spring of 2014 for a thru hike on the AT. The thought of actually doing a thru hike came sometime in March after a day of hiking on the Cumberland trail. By June, I began replacing some of my vintage (antique) gear with some new, shinny, lightweight gear. Now, there is a huge gear pile where a couch sat in the corner of our living room. The couch is still there, but you have to look to see it under all the gear. I don't yet have a definite start date, but I am thinking April fools day would be an appropriate time to begin. Hopper
Date: 2013-10-04
To: View Entry
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: clear sky

With just a little over 6 months before I begin my NOBO journey, I thought it was time I started training at a more serious pace. Fortunately, I have some time off next week AND....The weather here in the south will finally be cooling down. If all goes well, I will be able to get out on the trail 4 days next week. Maybe, I'll see you out there.
Date: 2013-10-22
To: View Entry
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: light rain

Wow! The last year has gone by so fast. It seems as if it was only a few weeks since I decided to attempt to thru-hike the AT in 2014. Now I only have 3 more weeks of work and I can begin preparing the home place for my absence and make my final preparations. Oct. is always a busy month for us and this one was a little more so than usual, but I have managed to get in almost 50 miles of hiking this month and was able to spend two days helping the CTC in their efforts to construct a suspension bridge across Big Soddy Creek on the Cumberland Trail. And the month is not over yet. If all goes as planned, I will be doing some multi-day trips with my wife before the weather gets nasty so I can test out some of the new gear I have purchased. I have decided to go with trail running shoes instead of hiking boots and bought two different pair to use so that I can decide which one fits my feet best. I spent hours reading everything I could find on this site about footware before deciding on the La Sportiva Wildcats and the Inov-8 Trail Roc 255. So far, I like them both and I am still undecided. Also, I am undecided on the stove I will be using. I bought an alcohol stove, but I still need some convincing that it is a better choice for me. Not carrying a stove is not an option for me because coffee in the mornings is the one part of my diet I will not be changing. Living for 6 months on pop tarts and snickers may prove to be too great of a challenge for me so I have been dehydrating Fruits and veggies to add to the mix. I may even try to dehydrate some sauces and chili. I still have much to learn about dehydrating. So much to do and only 5 months left.
Date: 2013-11-12
To: View Entry
Miles today: 0.0

Fuel for the fire¢¦   I have been pretty busy since my last post, but fortunately, winter time slows my work and offers more time to prepare for my up-coming journey. I had the opportunity to meet up with a friend (JJ) yesterday morning (11/11/13) and hike his final steps to Springer Mountain. Yep, he finished his SOBO trip yesterday! I think I was more excited than he was. I took photos of him in various poses, he wrote an entry in the log book and we headed back down the mountain to the parking area and my truck. We then drove to Gainsville GA where he had arranged transportation to VA Beach area to visit his family. We had lunch and talked for an hour about his SOBO trip. I dropped him at the book store where he waited on his final transportation and I drove the 3 hrs. home. I have some projects to work on over the winter, but I plan on getting out on the trails as much as I can over the next 5 months. Maybe I will see you out there.
Date: 2014-01-04
To: View Entry
Miles today: 0.0

Well, 2014 is finally here and I am less than 3 months away from my planned start date of April 1.   I am pretty much on schedule as far as my preperations are concerned. (I think) I don't really have a training plan, but I do intend on continuing to hike when I have the time to do so. The last week of 2013 allowed me some time to hike in Savage Gulf, Fiery Gizzard and another section of the Cumberland Trail. (All in TN) On the first day of 2014, even though I stayed up till after 2 am. on NYE, I managed to hike a 9+ mile section of the Pinhoti Trail in GA. For some reason, I thought being New Years Day, I could park at the trailhead, hike one-way to the next trailhead on a highway and easily hitch a ride back the 10 road miles to my car. Well, 2 hours later and well after dark, I finally did get a ride in the back of a police cruiser. The officer was confused as to why I would think I could get someone to stop and give me a ride, but he took me the final 4 miles to my car and was very nice about it. I had planned a multi-day trip for early next week on the Cumberland Trail, but the weather is not looking good for backpacking with lows below zero and freezing rain our last day. I hope to still get out on at least one of those days and maybe check out some frozen waterfalls. It seems this winter is being a little colder than the past few years and I guess the weather is causing problems for some, but I am glad to see it. Maybe it will make for an early Spring.
Date: 2014-01-09
To: View Entry
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: clear sky

Hello All, First I would like to say thanks to all of you that have contacted me and wished me luck and offered words of encouragement. Hopefully, I will have to opportunity to meet you along my journey. Yesterday was an almost perfect day! That arctic blast of cold air finally eased off and temps were predicted to reach 40 here so We decided to hit the trail again. My girlfriend and I left the house around 8:00 and headed south to the Dugger Mountain Wilderness in the Talladega National Forrest. On our way, we stopped in Piedmont, AL and met up with our good friend Hazard. The 3 of us made a quick stop for a subway to go and headed to Dugger. We set up our shuttle and were Hiking by 11:00 The sky was That blue that we seldom get in AL during the summer and the air was a crisp 24 degrees. I have been steadily increasing my pack weight on my day hikes, but am still shy of where I will be on the AT with 5 days of food. This was my first time on this section of the Pinhoti and, so far, it is my favorite section (section 11 AL). For anyone close or anyone considering hiking some of the Pinhoti, I recommend adding this section to their plans. Here is a link to the PTA and all the info one needs for the Pinhoti; http://www.pinhotitrailalliance.org/sitemap.html About an hour into our hike we stopped in a sunny spot and made a pot of hot tea and adjusted our clothing. It certainly hadn't reached 40 yet, so we didn't stay long after the tea was gone. Section 11 offers a couple miles of ridge line where you can see Piedmont and Gadsden in the distant to the north and nothing but the Talladega NF to the south. Alabama does have some mountains. Really! The temp may have reached 40, but certainly not for long. The last mile of our hike followed a series of merging streams of which we crossed 5 times. After we finished our hike, Tamara, Hazard and I drove to Gadsden to Ruby Tuesdays and did some damage to the salad bar while discussing our next trip. I think it's back to Cumberland trail.
Date: 2014-01-13
To: View Entry
Miles today: 0.0

It was another great weekend. I was able to get out and hike on the Pinhoti two more days. Tamara & Hazard joined me once again. This time we moved to the northern end of the Pinhoti near Ellajay, GA. You do know where Ellajay, GA is right? Anyway, we decided to do sections 28 & 29 this weekend and stay at Fort Mountain State Park in between. We woke to thunderstorms and heavy rain Saturday morning. Fortunately, I checked the weather and knew it was coming so I packed everything on Friday evening. Tamara and I drove to Trenton, GA where we met our friend Hazard for breakfast. By 9:00 the rain had stopped and the the sky had lightened enough to give up hope for a little sunshine. We drove to Fort Mountain SP and picked out our camping site. Wow! we had all but the campground hoist's site to chose from. We then drove the 5 miles to the Cohutta Overlook where we parked my truck and it was back down the mountain to Chattsworth and south to look for the southern trailhead. We didn't take the most direct route, but we did find the Forrest Service road we were looking for. Unfortunately, all the rain made that steep hill questionable so we decided to tack the last mile of mud road to our hike. This is a pretty area with lots of hemlocks, Lodgepole pines and the typical southern hardwoods. By the time we had been hiking an hour, we had forded 3 streams that were knee deep and 20 to 30 feet wide. Did I mention the rain? Section 28 on the Pinhoti is a nice section that follows old forest service roads mostly, but is all up hill. I think the only down hill in this section was the first half of the stream crossings. Later, at Fort Mountain, we built a fire with the wood I had packed on Friday. The moon was shinning brightly. Since we had the best site at the park by the lake, we decided to Walk the 100 ft to the lake and check it out. 5 minutes later we discovered the raccoons had been watching us and stole part of our Sunday lunch. I don't know what I was thinking, I have stayed at State parks before. Sunday morning we packed what the coons left us for lunch and headed to section 29. This was another perfect day. The sky was clear and we found the trailhead by 9 and were back on the Pinhoti shortly after. Section 29 is more typical of the trails I have hiked with up and over a ridge and back down to cross a creek and then repeat. It was an absolutely perfect day to be in the woods! I am still smiling. One more thing I want to mention, I made a reservation at Amnicola Falls SP to camp for the ATKO in March. So, if you are going I will see you there.
Date: 2014-02-03
To: View Entry
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: overcast clouds

Things are going as planned so far. January was a cold month. Come to think of it, so was Dec. & Nov. I certainly hope it warms up soon. I have many things on my list I must complete before I depart in April. I think I can still get it done if the weather cooperates. Last month went pretty well as far as my plans for an April (Fools Day) 1st departure. I have pretty much all my gear lined up. I spent some time talking with people that have previously thru-hiked the AT to get inspiration and advise. I was also fortunate to be able to get in 8 days of hiking last month and a couple days of caving. I think my years of caving experience will make some of the steep, rocky sections a little easier for me. At least I hope so.I started out Feb. with an unusually long (10 mile) caving trip to help build up my endurance. We were underground for a little over 12 hours and I was pretty much whooped when we finished. I believe that was my longest (distance) caving trip ever. I camped just a few hundred feet from the cave entrance and was so lucky to run into some friends that had done a different trip in the same cave that day. They had a huge fire going when I arrived about midnight. They even had some homemade beef stew left over still warm by the fire and fed me. I had planed to do a short, 4.5 mile hike the next day on my way home, but fortunately for me it was raining and I had an easy excuse to zero. I don't really see me getting 10 days to train in Feb. but I plan on starting to use the stair climber training method more this month to make up for it. I read others posts a couple times a week and pay special attention to the folks I think I am likely to meet early on. I hope I will have a chance to meet most of the 2014 thru hikers. I believe it is likely as I plan on at least one flip. One of my dogs (Rino) has been hiking with me quite a lot over the past year and If all goes well, he will join me a few days in the southern half. My girlfriend, Tamara and my buddy Hazard are also planing on joining me some days. I hope they bring cookies or brownies. Hint Hint. it's only 56 more days! Oh crap! I need to get busy.
Date: 2014-02-16
To: View Entry
Miles today: 0.0

I had really thought it would be mid-March before it happened, but it started today. I woke up around 3 a.m. this morning and as I laid there trying to go back to sleep, I began to think about the day I start my journey. My mind began to think of all the things I have left to complete before I disappear for 6 months. After an hour or so of trying to clear my mind, I got up and began reading about the ATKO and found myself back on the ATC site. I came across the ¢when and where to start¢ page for section and thru hikers. Seems they are encouraging folks to do alternatives to the typical NOBO hike to reduce impact and overcrowding. I have, for several months, been thinking of a flip-flop hike. Being from Maryville, TN, I have seen the GSMNP over crowed several times and found myself avoiding the park at peak visitation. Also, I really want to enjoy the parts of the trail I have done so many times in the past. I thought If I were to flip-flop, starting in Hotsprings, NC I could be on the front of the bubble and not contribute to the already overcrowded southern 275 miles.I continued to read about the Head Start hikes, the wraparound hike, the leapfrog hike and finally the Cool Breeze hike. It occurred to me that the Cool Breeze might be the way for me to roll. It requires two flips. So there are added logistics and expenses, but it would allow me to still keep my start date, avoid the massive crowds (except during Trail Days, which I plan on attending no matter where I am at during those days), be where the weather suites my clothes and finish on Springer 80 miles from home. This is not set in stone, but I am seriously considering this method. The ATC also mentions that the purists will insist that the only correct way to thru hike is to go south to north or north to south. I see that the purist also does not condone sleeping in a hostel, a hotel, blue blazing or slack-packing. I will likely break some of those rules as well. My intention is to complete every mile of the AT in one year and enjoy where I am each day. I have a start date, but no real end date. I see some people on Trail Journals that have their end date listed. This seems a bit difficult to me because $hit happens. I will have a rough itinerary so that I can get mail drops or have friends visit, but I hope to be able to keep my journal current enough for that. Now that the snow has subsided, I should be able to get some of the things I must finish before I leave accomplished. See ya at the ATKO in a few weeks.
Date: 2014-03-01
To: View Entry
Miles today: 0.0

Well, I guess I am in the final countdown now. 0 months and 31 days. I would be lying if I said I am ready. I do want to start already, but I am nervous and still have so much left to do at home. Although, I do have all my gear in order. I made a major gear change last week. Tamara bought me a new pack for my birthday. I will be keeping the Golite Jam as a backup in case I don¢t like this one or it fails at some point, but now I will be carrying a ULA Circuit. It seems like it fits me better. I went to Little River Trading Co. in Maryville, TN and spent a couple of hours with Bert AKA Wildcat and he fitted me. He completed the AT a few years ago and is a great resource as well as an awesome guy. My torso length fell in the range of med and large. So we tried them both. LRTC has these bags of marbles they add for weight along with tents and sleeping bags so you can feel it loaded. It looks a little smaller than the Jam, but it feels better on. I have been reading the trail journals of the people that are on the trail already and also the ones of the people that I think I will be hiking with at least for a while. Am I the only one that is doing that? I haven¢t thought much about mail drops, but I decided that I will set up a few. Not really just food, but some other things I will want along the trail. I dehydrated last year¢s apple crop and it is divided into 50 or so vacuum sealed bags. I would also want to include some spices, fresh socks, change out my ipod, vitamins, as well as a few other things I may need that may not be so easy to get along the trail. A few months back, some of my friends were all about coming and joining me on the trail for a weekend at various places. Now I am beginning to think I shouldn¢t count on them so I will put the boxes together just in case. Going to the post office is a lot easier than going to VA. I have come to realize I can¢t finish everything I planned on doing at home before I leave so I made a list of things and listed them in order of importance. As long as the weather holds, I might get the roof on the tractor shed, put a water line to the horses upper pasture, prune the fruit trees, prepare the asparagus beds and get the mower and tractor ready for summer. Oh, I forgot¢¦ATKO next week. I guess I better get busy, I have lots to do in 31 days.
Date: 2014-03-02
To: View Entry
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: overcast clouds

Wow, today was an awesome day. First day I could work outside and enjoy shorts and Chacos. Too bad they are so damn heavy. Anyway, I got some stuff done today. Yea! And, I made my final (I think) on-line purchase for my trip. It was from Savory Spice. Yeah I know¢¦ but at least the ramen will not taste the same every night. I am so envious of those that are already hiking. Spring is finally battling with winter. It's only 30 days now and I will be there with those that are on their way. SHIT, I just remembered. I have to prep for my colonoscopy tomorrow. At least it will be done Tuesday morning. Not that it could change anything at this point anyway. I better go eat, because I can¢t tomorrow.
Date: 2014-03-06
To: View Entry
Miles today: 0.0

Well, it happened again last night. I woke up at 1:30 to pee and after returning to bed I started thinking about what the next 6 months will be like for me on the trail. 3 hours later, here I am writing another journal entry. I don¢t have a large family or a bunch of co-workers because I left the business world a few years back. So, there won¢t be a lot of people following my journal. I also have no one that will be going with me. Actually, 10 years ago we moved out to the country and I left my hometown and friends behind. Now I rarely see them and I haven¢t really made any new friends in this area that are interested in hiking. I do have Tamara as my support and a few friends and family that are interested in my hike so I intend on keeping this journal somewhat current. In a little over three weeks from now I will start my walkabout. If you have read my previous entries here. You know I got snowed out of a colonoscopy in February. Shitty right? Well It finally happened and It wasn¢t all good. But no game changer either. Fortunately, everything else is going as planned. I am a little behind but not enough to delay my start day of April 1st. This weekend is the AT Kick-off at Amnicola State park and I plan on attending. Just want I need right? Something to get me more excited about the trail. I am sure I will meet a few people that I will be seeing along the AT. The weather looks pretty good for this weekend so I may skip some of the events and do the approach trail. Especially if I can find someone that is interested so we can work out a shuttle. Over the next week I plan on repackaging my Freeze dried veggies, spices coffee and vitamins into 3 week batches. I hope to get these mailed to me. I also have 3 extra pars of shoes and plan on getting a pair of them in every third shipment. This all may change later, but for now, that¢s the plan. I also have extra socks and underwear that can be put in a box when I need them and at some point I will change out the spring clothes for the summer ones. I guess I will get pretty good at knowing when to ask for a shipment and were to have it sent. I have read about some hikers that have missed shipments and others that have had to wait on them. I will try to have them shipped early if possible. Well it is now 5:15 and I have a building materials delivery coming in 30 minutes or so. I guess I should get another cup of coffee and get ready for my day. 3 more weeks to prepare.