morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2003-08-29
From: White House Landing, MAINE

To: Rainbow Stream Lean-to, MAINE
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: overcast clouds

We hiked 15.9 miles today after leaving the White House. We got a late start which was around 9:30 am and finished close to 6:00 pm which makes for a very long day. The trail was not too bad, and at the top of Mt. Nesuntabunt we saw Mt. Katahdin. We could see the trail as it went up the side on the Hunt Trail which is the one we will climb up and down. Spike and Hopper are with us and we will all be together the rest of the way. They are really good people and fun to hang with. Damp Dan and I only have 30 miles left and 3 days to go. It it is REALLY going to happen, Lord willing.Mrs. Friday, have a good trip here, I will be praying for you and Heramator and the safe arrival of both of you.
Date: 2003-08-30
From: Rainbow Stream Lean-to, MAINE

To: Abol Bridge Camp, MAINE
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: overcast clouds

Mrs. Friday - you and Hermanator are on your way to meet me, thank you! We hiked 15 miles to the Abol Bridge where we resupplied and walked across the road to this campsite. At the store we had cokes, sandwiches, chips and more, a great treat. The hike today was mostly around Rainbow Lake where we saw planes taking off delivering and picking up people at a beautiful camp. Spike and Hopper along with Damp Dan and Cliff Dweller are here. In the morning we head to the "final shelter" in Baxter State Park which is called The Birches. This shelter area is only for thru-hikers who are climbing Mt. Katahdin. We only have 15 miles left to the top of Mt. Katahdin and then we will hike 10 miles tomorrow. We plan to summit Mt. Katahdin on Wednesday, September 3, 2003. Mrs. Friday, soon very soon!
Date: 2003-08-31
From: Abol Bridge Camp, MAINE

To: Katahdin Stream Campsite, MAINE
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: overcast clouds

Mrs. Friday - Thank you for the "almost" surprise visit! I don't know how or why but I knew you were coming today. I had even told Damp Dan, Hopper and Spike that I knew Mrs. Friday would be here when I finished this entire can! Everyone here says thanks for the trail magic from Mrs Friday and The Hermanator. I love you both!We hiked 9.9 miles today and arrived early into Baxter State Park at this campsite. After I finished my yummy Spam for dinner the trail angels (Hermantor and Mrs. Friday) arrived with more great food. They were walking up the road to the campsite as I was walking down to the "privy" and the Hermantor spotted me first! What a reunion! We also met the family from MD whose daughter, Molasses, is hiking the trail. Then Footslogger walked into the campsite and was thrilled with joining the party. Tomorrow is the summit of Mt. Katahdin and the end of this part of this wonderful journey. I will continue tomorrow.Mrs. Friday, thank you for making this happen, I will always remember.
Date: 2003-09-03
From: Katahdin Stream Campsite, MAINE

To: Summit, Mt. Katahdin, MAINE
Miles today: 10.4
Weather: broken clouds

WELL, it is over - this part of the journey is FINISHED. God is Good and I am with Mrs. Friday now and very, very, happy! Damp Dan, Hopper, Spike, Foot Slogger and I were up and climbing at 5:50 am. At 9:40 all of us were standing at the sign telling us that we had arrived at the North termunus starting point for the A.T. We had reached the summit of Mt. Katahdin. The emotions from all of us went from laughter, to tears. We took plenty of photos and decended 30 mins. later. The weather was perfect, beautiful white clouds and cool temps. Damp Dan made the ceremonial deposit of the rock he had carried from Springer Mt., Georgia. Hopper did a fantastic job of arriving minutes before us to take photos. The view was unbelievable. As I approached the sign all I could do was slap it - "DONE". I thank God for getting me to this beautiful place. As we hiked down approx 1 mile from the end Mrs. Friday and Mrs. Damp Dan sprung from the trail in the woods and surprised us with trail magic, food and drinks. We all hiked to the bottom together. Once at the bottom the Hermanator had everything under control. The picnic table Hermanator set up was full of food and drinks for an army. We all had a great time. All of us then left Baxter State Park which was clean and filled with friendly staff to the Best Western located nearby in Millinocket. We all had rooms for the evening and met later at the restaurant for steak and seafood. A great time of celebration was had by all, FootSlagger, Hopper, Spike, Damp Dan, Mrs. Damp Dan, The Hermanator, Mrs. Friday and myself, and, we had a surprise guest for dinner, Ranger Rick, who had summited on the 2nd. It's soft beds and warm showers and maybe more food! We all plan on meeting tomorrow for breakfast and one last goodbye before we go our separate ways.
Date: 2003-09-04
From: Summit, Mt. Katahdin, MAINE

To: The Inn at Ocean View, MAINE
Miles today: 0.0

We all met in the lobby this morning of the Best Western, Millinocet and had another photo session. The Hermanator is transporting Foot Slogger and Ranger Rick to Bangor so they can get home. Damp Dan and Mrs. Dan are transporting Hopper and Spike to Monson, Maine for their return home. Mrs. Friday and I start our vacation of the New England coast after breakfast. The first stop is Camden, Maine at this wonderful Inn at Ocean's View. The grounds around the inn are flat, very flat!! We toured Camden by foot and for some reason my feet felt great. Tomorrow our coast tour continues. Life is great.
Date: 2003-09-06
To: Cape Cod, MASS
Miles today: 0.0

To my family, friends and well wishers: Thank you for your prayers. On September 3 this journey ended when we climbed Mt. Katahdin in Baxter State Park, Maine. Mrs. Friday and I are currently taking a few "0" days in New England before our return to Maryland - in a vehicle!! I look forward to contacting all of you and will complete the story on trail journals soon. But for now, please know that God is good and to Him be the glory!
Date: 2003-09-07
From: Cape Cod, MASS

To: Home Base
Miles today: 0.0

I am responding to several people who have recently e-mailed me or sent me messages and "well wishes:Harry G - thank you for keeping in touch, see you soon.   Dennis Jones - good to hear from you, tell "Notes" congratulations on is completion of the AT.   Mark Woods - thanks for the call - come by and visit! Goldberry - good to hear from you - "way to go", congratulations on completing the AT.   Jane B - I'll see you soon - thank you! Autumn - great job on Grease, I love you!!!   Lauren - I love you - had fun while you watched me eat all that cake and ice cream!! Hermanator - you're a great friend, thank you for all of your help!   Tom McDonald - great news, call me on my cell please at 240-446-5595.   Jan R - thanks for all your emails and prayers, tell Mrs. Friday hi!   Noah - good to hear from you, congratulations on finishing the AT, tell Big Brother hi for me.   Dave S - thanks for the email, stay safe big guy.   Ron W - I loved the tent. call me and I'll tell you more. 240-446-5595   Tim W - you can call me on my cell phone and I'll be happy to answer any questions, 240-446-5595.   Kathy H - thank you for all your emails, bugs are definitely part of the trail, but call if you have any questions 240-446-5595. Peggy G - how are you - retirement going well?? thanks for all your prayers.   Marcus H - thank you for watching over the nest egg so well!!!Linda - Cape Cod was great, what a beautiful place, thank you for the email.   Andy K - good to hear from you, thank you for your prayers.   Jack - it is great to be home.   Diedre -thank you for keeping in touch, I'll see you soon.   Donna R - I called Ronnie!!! See you in October. Thanks for keeping Mrs. Friday laughing.   Coe Family - thanks for all your prayers, praying things will get better for you. Ed D - I'm home buddy - call me!   Condor - see you soon , thanks for the invitation.   Dejavue & Songbird - Hope to see you at trail days too.
Date: 2002-03-31
From: Birch Spring Gap

To: Spence Field Shelter
Miles today: 10.8

The snow finally ended sometime in the middle of the night. The other good news is that we met some wonderful college students from Univ.of Alabama. They were on Spring break and planned to hike for 4 days, but due to the weather, they cut their trip short. More Trail Magic = Before they left, Brian Dunn and his Trail Angels, gave us ALL of their meals! They shared all of their freeze dried food, bars, raisins, etc. - you name it - we took it! Thank you so much. When we reached the trail we realized no one had hiked through the new snow for at least 5 miles. It was really tough going. From Mollies Ridge Shelter to Spence Field others had knocked through some of the snow and it was slightly easier. We stopped after 10.8 rough miles and realized The Posse has traveled at least 180 miles total. We are still hanging in and estimate that tomorrow is going to be another long day.
Date: 2002-05-13
From: Brickley's Gap, VA

To: Troutville, VA
Miles today: 0.0

Guess what? That's right, we are in Troutville a day early! Six days and we are here. Hiked over 711 MILES and will be 1/3 of the way finished on the 16th. We hiked 13.8 miles today over some of the most beautiful scenery yet. One of the places I would like to take the Mrs. to. We were hitch hiking and a young man in a pick up stopped and drove us to the motel. He also gave us his phone number and said he would like to drive us anywhere we wanted to go, but the time would not let us take advantage of his kindness. I will be seeing my family soon!
Date: 2003-02-10
From: kincora hostel

To: View Entry
Miles today: 0.0

very fun-filled day! of course it rained. well, for the first couple hours. then it snowed. and got incredibly cold. anyways...we decided to have bob drive us up 14 miles and we just hiked south back to the hostel, due to the bad weather. it was a very decent hike. if the weather was nice it would have been awesome. it got interesting about 4 miles from the hostel. the snow had started to pile up, like a couple inches. and we started to split up. no one was by themselves but we just werent all together. me and speck went on a blue blaze trail, which is an alternate trail when the a.t. is under water, which it was. the others didnt. cire ended up falling off a cliff 20 ft into the river. not good! esp. at below 30 deg. he was ok, but it was still something to worry about. its perfect weather for hypothermia! the main problem was that no one knew where me and speck were. we had gotten ahead of them when we took the alt trail. cire and slickrock caught up with us and told us what happened to cire at the river and that mr cranky pants was still down there waiting for me and speck to make sure the same thing didnt happen to one of us. so, since all of us are soaking wet and freezing cold, we decided to go on to the hostel and change and then go back out to make sure the others get back. but...before we went out again they showed up! so happy. but it was just a huge mess. in the end everyone is ok, warm and in good spirits. we're looking forward to cooking some dinner and chillin out for the rest of the night. good day, good night!
Date: 2003-03-01
From: atlanta, ga

To: just past hightop gap
Miles today: 0.0

   The first day! Oh my God! It is so hard. I knew it would be, but gee whiz!Most of today was climbing so it was definitely painful! I can see why some might want to quit. But NO! We press on! We actually went 1 1/2 miles further than planned, which was really surprising. It will relieve us some tomorrow especially if we are sore, which I'm sure I will be.   I will say that it was hard climbing for me today because I have some huge blisters on my heels, I tried moleskin, then blister treatment and duck tape. The duck tape helped a lot but it's not gonna come off for a couple of days so I won't be able to dry the blisters out.   Anyway, I'm in the tent now so everything is cool. We'll see tomorrow I guess. We're still trying to figure out the best way to settle camp. It was pretty comical- took us 30 minutes to hang our bear bags! Well It's only 6:30 and we are all going to bed. How weird is that! We are all so tired so it's very good. So, day 1 done. Moving on... Diesel
Date: 2003-03-02
From: just past hightop gap

To: gooch gap
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: overcast clouds

All I can say - HARD! COLD! It's been so incredibly hard during the day and so incredibly cold in the night. Now it's 8:30, we're going to bed. Today was the most strenuous activity I have ever done. Many times I wished that I could stop. I do have more blisters and they ar killing me! Everything is sore. I ache all over. I cannot describe the physical pain. But it's weird, at lunch today I felt like I couldn't go on, but I did. My body has definitely impressed me!    We met some cool people today that we made a fire with. We sang some worship songs too! Very refreshing! Played euchre with the 5-Alive team (that's us). Now to sleep!-Diesel
Date: 2003-03-03
From: gooch gap

To: .7 short of slaughter gap
Miles today: 0.0

Wow! Harder! Today felt like 2 days! The first half before lunch... completely miserable. Blisters acting up big time! I actually didn't think I could make it any farther. But... I put my sandals on and my "family" helped share some of my gear. Lots better!Feeling much better so picked up the pace and we were able to gain a lot of ground. We met up with Lumberjack today. He hiked with us for a long time and ate lunch with us. He even helped me out with my weight! Very nice guy! We did 11.5 miles today which was very good for our 3rd day. I'm being kinda random- there is so much going on and I just keep remembering things. It was a prayer -filled day. I was in so much pain. I didn't know what God was up to, but I was quickly shown that I an to be humble and I'm not doing this on my own strength. My strength has quickly proven to be not enough! That's an understatement!   God- You are the one walking. You are the one that is even allowing me to see the views that we've seen. Totally amazing! Thank you Father! Teach me in my suffering. I'm totally broken and open for you to restore me! Please do that! I'm so weak, so you can be strong!   Well, tomorrow we get to neels gap. We're taking a much needed break. There's a big cookout there too! Hamburgers! Can't wait! - Diesel
Date: 2003-03-04
From: .7 short of slaughter gap

To: neels gap
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: overcast clouds

Today is pretty easy. Hiked up blood mtn and the view was totally incredible. It's the 2nd highest point in GA. Definitely awesome! The hike down was horrid. Took like 2 hrs, but the reward!! Even better! we're stayin in the hostel at neels gap. We even had a cookout last nite. Hamburgers were amazing! The things I used to take for granted! Got showered, cleaned clothes, and feelin good. My feet are doing better. They got aired out today but it's supposed to rain tomorrow so I won't be hiking in my sandals. They have really been a valuable piece of gear. I'm glad I brought them! God is really lookin out for me. We'll get some good rest tonight, tomorrow's going to be hard. 12.5 miles and supposed to be the hardest climb we've had yet. I'm not looking forward to that but it'll get us caught up. Today I'm thankful for the rest, the amazing view, and getting to know more of pak 31. No one who started on 3/1 has quit, which is a big thing-- Pretty encouraging!
Date: 2003-03-05
From: neels gap

To: hogpen gap
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: overcast clouds

Brokeness! Humbleness! And getting vulnerable whether I wanted to or not. I actually cried today. Not an easy thing, especially since we're in the woods camping with 3 girls! The blisters got the best of me. I can't go any farther without letting my feet heal up. I'm going to Hiawassee for a couple of days tomorrow so I can heal. But in the mean time... I can't think of any more for God to be teaching me through this except being broken and vulnerable. My "man-pride" has definitely gone out the door! And not easy to let it go either! I just broke down on the top of a mountain and cried. It hurt so bad. But I was immediately encouraged by the best group to hike with- 5 Alive! Everyone is so supportive. They're urging me on. Everyone is ready to do anything to make it better for me. Let's just say I owe everyone some favors! It's so hard for me not to feel like I'm giving up by taking this break. I kinda feel like I'm cheating. But I was quickly reminded that is not the case. And I realize if I don't do something now, it's only gonna get worse. So I'm taking a break without feeling like I'm giving up or letting anyone (myself) down. I know God's bringing me through this whole situation. I told Speck the other day that I had relied more on the group than I ever thought I would. I am totally depending on them. God is using them to comfort and assure me. This is a GREAT trip! No doubt. This is one of many struggles that we will face. But it's all worth it. With struggles comes perseverance. And this is on the beginning. Next week will start anew for me. Hopefully we'll be seeing better days. And I'm willing to let God continue to shatter my life. THat's what this is all about. God- break me and heal me! Restore my soul.
Date: 2003-03-07
From: hogpen gap

To: tray mtn
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: scattered clouds

Spending tonight at Blueberry Patch Hostel. Gary, the guy that runs it is awesome! He loves the Lord and even more...he loves that I love the Lord. He prayed with the group this morning before they all left. Awesome! Anyways, after chillin all day at Hogpen Gap yesterday, we finally met up with Lalla and Julia, Speck's friends. Lalla treated us big time!She took us to get Mexican food and even was willing to split a hotel room with 5 very stinky hikers! Oh, we accidentally met up with Oopu, Frigid Air, and Slickrock in Hiawassee last nite after dinner. We're driving down to the hotel and see them on the side of the road! How funny! So we pick them up and go to the Holiday Inn! Very nice! We did laundry and washed up all our gear. We got a very good breakfast, but now I'm here by myself in the hostel. Well, there are a few other guys here. It's like being a t camp. Everyone stinks really bad! But I'm hopefully gonna be able to get back on the trail tomorrow with the group. We'll finally be 5-Alive again! Sunday we're crossing the state line going into N.C. Hopefully I'll be good-to-go. I've shaved some weight off my pack and changed my boots to 'old faithfuls'. I'm ready to go!
Date: 2003-03-08
From: tray mtn

To: dick's creek gap
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: overcast clouds

Woke up from probably the best night of sleep yet this morning at the Blueberry Patch. Finally got an almost full night! Breakfast was amazing! Gary and Lennie made blueberry pancakes that were awesome. SO Good! I sent some stuff home today. Got rid of some weight. Then said goodbye to Coach, who's been a great encourager to all on the trail. He's finished with his pilgrimage for a while. Then packed up to hit the trail again. Planned on meeting 5_Alive at 11:00. They didn't make it til almost 5. So I waited for them at the trail head at Dicks creek. Imet and talked with a lot of really cool people. Met up with A-train and Dimples again. Then when everybody got here, OX '97 shows up with 'trail magic'! We ended up hangin with him and he took us all to dinner in Helen at some German place. I couldn't believe it! He paid for all of us! Must have been over a hundred bucks! Anyways, he's campin with us tonight. We're headed for about 11.5 miles tomorrow so I need some rest...
Date: 2003-03-09
From: dick's creek gap

To: bly gap campground
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: few clouds

Decent day. We made like 8.5 miles. Not what we wanted to but it's fine. Today was so good! I feel like I have new feet! The blisters are no more! I'm still taking preventative action against them. Since I was completely rested from the 2 days off, I led the group all day pretty much. At one point, actually at the state line (NC/GA), I was almost a mile ahead of everyone. It's definitely encouraging considering the first 5 days I was slow, in the back, because of the blisters. My legs feel great. I mean they feel like I just worked out but its a lot better than when we started. Now we're here at blys gap camping. The group had gotten a lot closer knit together!Today, at the state line, Slickrock breaks down. She said she couldn't make it 3 more miles, which was where we had planned to go.Blys gap was right around the corner. She's tough though and she had us coaching her on.Everything's great here! Me and OOPU went up on the other side of the ridge to watch the sunset. Great talk! Talked all about why we were out here. We have almost identical ideas and reasons. Definitely a good time! We shared what we want to see God do. Right now it's to break and reform all of us. He's well on the way of breaking me. I think there's a couple of others that are getting close. I think tonight will be a good time of rest and good sleep. We've seen things that we could only imagine. It's been like a dream. I look forward to being a part of what God has for all of us tomorrow!
Date: 2003-03-10
From: bly gap campground

To: beech gap
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: clear sky

Oh dang! Today was sooo hard! But we only did 12.5 miles. We started in 27 degree weather It was dang cold! I had oatmeal for breakfast but little did I know that the gas from the alcohol stove leaked into my pot! So my plain oatmeal had sort of a gasoline taste. Which probably isn't good for me, but if was food. It was just nasty ! I was burping gasoline all morning !Gross! I'm good now that I've been eating other stuff. We started with a good 3 mile climb. Straight up too! Hard as nails. But I felt great. Then just after lunch we got to Standing Indian Mtn at deep gap. It kicked my tail! 2.5 miles up to over 5000 ft. It kept going and going! I thought it would never end. Eventually we made it to the top but I was completely drained. We had just ocer 3 miles to go to get to beech gap where we were gonna camp. Note: WE STINK! BAD!! Just realized that. I broke down about 2 miles away, but again I relied on the group for encouragement. Frigid Air took the guitar to lighten my pack a little. But then I got fed up with the trail and just booked it down the mountain. It probably only took me 20 minutes to get a mile to the campsite. Dang fast! But I was soo beat. My body was saying "quit! no more!" But I had to make it. I did and it feels great to be sitting here in the tent now . It's on 7:00, but I'm tired and goin to bed. A big thanks to Frigid Air and 5 alive!