morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2008-09-03
From: Hexacuba Shelter

To: Smarts Mountain
Miles today: 5.3
Weather: scattered clouds

Hexacuba Shelter to Smarts Mountain Firetower5.3 milesA fairly short day again, but for a much better reason this time. Chill's back is doing much better with the new suspension he has rigged on his pack. It is tearing up his sit pad but hopefully it will last until we can get into town to find a more permanent solution.We had a full house of NOBOs at the shelter last night, so it was a little noisy. We were the last out as our goal was only 5 miles up to the top of Smarts Mountain. We were fairly determined to try to sleep in the firetower, but we were told that the water source up here is dry. So we set out with the mindset that if the weather was clear and not too windy whe we got here, and if no one else beat us to the firetower, and if we could either carry up enough water onto the mountain for overnight, or collect enough here, then we'd climb the tower and decide if we really wanted to sleep there.When we got to the water source at the bottom of the hill we decided it was too warm today, and too many miles uphill to carry water up. The trail up was actually fairly easy, well graded, and only steep for a couple of small sections. I thought I was about two thirds of the way up when suddenly the sign for the top appeared. There was a couple camping at the Firewarden's cabin who advised is that the water source was dried up and the nearest water was 3 miles away down either side of the mountain. Chill decided to check it out anyway, and reappeared a half hour later with 5 liters of good clear water. It's quite amazing out here how much misinformation we get about water. We find we can collect liters of water fairly quickly from even a small trickle or drip that others ignore. Next we climbed the Firetower, it was a little scary at first as the top is only 6 feet square, but it is totally enclosed, and the view was incredible on this gorgeous sunny day. Our timing was apparently perfect because within a few minutes of getting up there three more groups of hikers turned up, two of them said they had intended to sleep up there. But we were there first, so the decision was ours. After discussing it for a few minutes we decided it was a unique opportunity and all the elements had fallen into place today, and we shouldn't pass it up.We are really glad we stayed. The afternoon was beautiful, and the sunset gorgeous. The skies cleared off again after dark and the stars hung all around us. A couple of thunderstorms passed by off in the distance, but far enough away to just add to the light show. Now we're both tucked in our bags to stave off the breeze that has picked up and is blowing through the broken window panes and through the gaps in the floor. I'm loving it!
Date: 2008-09-04
From: Smarts Mountain

To: Moose Mountain Shelter
Miles today: 12.4
Weather: clear sky

Smarts Mountain to Moose Mountain Shelter12.4 milesLast night in the fire tower was awesome. We had a great sunset, and then star filled skies until around 4am when we were swallowed up in a cloud. The wind picked up a little during the night, but just enough to make it a little breezy in our temporary home, not enough to shake it around. This morning our mountain cleared out from under its cloud just in time for the sunrise. All in all the night was well worth the short day yesterday.Today we managed to put in a full mileage day, despite the hot and humid weather. Our first break of the day was at the first running water we came to at Lyme Dorchester road. We both took a quick cold bath in the brook, and it felt so good to be briefly clean and refreshed. Unfortunately it didn't last too long befor we were sweaty and sticky again. At the next crossing of Lyme Dorchester we stopped at a house that was signposted for free tapwater and icecream. The lady there, Frances, gave us each a chocolate fudge icecream bar, a cucumber, let us fill up our water bottles, and even took our trash from us. Great trail magic. Shortly after that we stopped for lunch and three ladies walking two very obedient and friendly dogs passed by and added 3 apples and a half pack of fig newtons to our lunch.The day started to stretch on by the time we reached Goose Pond road. We stopped for a quick break to prepare for the climb up Moose mountain and were totally engulfed by a swarm of mosquitoes. We both quickly grabbed for our lemon eucalyptus big spray. We always joke that this stuff is so good that whoever is slowest getting it on will get eaten up while the first is bug free. Fortunately we were both quick for this crowd. I swear that this stuff is better than 100% Deet, and doesn't melt the plastic on my glasses or watch!      The ascent up Moose mountain was long, steep and hot. That is never a good combination at the end of the day. There was a beautiful brook of clear water at the bottom of the ascent, but neither of us felt like hauling water up the steep slope. As we're neared the top we spoke to a several hikers that said they were moving on down to the brook because there was no water at the shelter. We began to get quite concerned that we should have carried water up, especially when we saw the series of muddy puddles that was supposedly the water source. Chill went to follow the streambed downstream to look for better water while I continued into the shelter area to set up camp. He returned about 20 minutes later with 5 liters of the clearest, sweetest water you can imagine. He's very good at finding and collecting water when most would just give up. Not much else to report on. We had a small fire, dinner and a shower, and into our respective beds. We're heading for Hanover tomorrow.
Date: 2008-09-05
From: Moose Mountain Shelter

To: Hanover, NH
Miles today: 11.0
Weather: clear sky

Moose Mountain Shelter to Hanover, NH11 milesAnother hot and humid day today, but not a bad hike at all. After the short ascent to the summit of Moose mountain the trail was predominantly downhill and smoothly graded. We crossed another nice clear flowing brook a couple of miles into the hike. There were a couple of great campsites nearby and we half wished we had continued down to here last night, but both agreed that we'd both been too tired, hot and sweaty to have continued on. We satisfied ourselves with a nice cooling wash up and splash about in the water before filling up our water bottles and hiking on. We walked through several wildflower filled meadows this afternoon. It is still strange to us to walk through open fields after so much time in deep woods and on barren mountaintops. We had just started hiking again after our lunch when we crossed path with Stumpknocker, a multiple time thru hiker. It was only after we had exchanged the usual hiker pleasantries and gone our separate ways that I realized we should have mentioned the othe trail we have in common, as I know he has also hiked the FL Trail. Not worth running back for though!   After one last steep ascent and descent, of course in the hottest part of the day, and negating our cleaning and freshening efforts of earlier, we descended onto the sports field of Dartmouth College. After collecting our boxes from the post office we were picked up by Karen from Tigger's Treehouse. This wonderful lady allows hikers to stay in the RV in her yard and use the bathroom and laundry. She also ran is all over town to do our EMS, Walmart, grocery and KFC shopping. So tonight I'm clean showered again, in a nice comfy RV sofabed watching a movie as I fall asleep, not even worried about the rain that is supposed to move in tonight.
Date: 2008-09-06
From: Tigger's Treehouse

To: Tigger's Treehouse
Miles today: 0.0

Zero day at Tigger's Treehouse We're taking today off to avoid any possible bad weather coming in from the outflow of Tropical Storm Hannah. It probably won't be too bad an event, and I know we'd survive any rain after all we've been through, but I had another close call with a dead branch falling out of a treetop in a stiff breeze yesterday, and am just as happy not to be in the woods if there is a chance of strong winds coming out of this system.We took our hosts Karen and Ralph to breakfat at Lou's restaurant, picked up my new shoes from the post office, and have spent the remainder of the day repacking our packs and bounce boxes and listening to the rain outside.
Date: 2008-09-07
From: Tigger's Treehouse

To: Hanover
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: overcast clouds

Zero day in Hanover. Today we got dropped back in Hanover by Karen and Ralph from Tigger's Treehouse. They dropped us right outside Everything But Anchovies so we could have breakfast. The trouble is that on weekends EBA's breakfast isn't just breakfast, it's full blown all you can eat brunch. I did all that and more. We staggered out of there several hopes later and I knew as soon as I tried to cinch my waistbelt on my pack that there wasn't going to be any hiking happening today.We ended up calling a local motel on the outskirts of town, the Sunset Motel, who kindly came and picked us up. I sure needed an afternoon nap after all that food.
Date: 2008-09-08
From: Hanover

To: Hanover
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: broken clouds

Zero day in Hanover. The motel had a power outage early this morning. Not only did we oversleep and woke up dazed and not able to get coffee, but none of our electronics stuff was charged either. By the time the electric came back on and I finally got coffee and could think straight we realized nothing had charged. I was also feeling rather sick, probably the aftereffects of my overindulgence yesterday. So we made the decision to stay in town another night. It was a gorgeous fall day and would probably have been perfect for hiking if I just could have got organized earlier.
Date: 2008-09-09
From: Hanover

To: Happy Hill Shelter
Miles today: 5.8
Weather: light rain

Hanover NH to Happy Hill Shelter 5.8 miles After such a gorgeous day yesterday what could we possibly wake up to this morning except a very loud and long rumble of thunder and torrential rain. It's very hard to leave a warm dry motel room under such conditions, but we actually did manage it. One of the other motel guests offered is a ride into town, saving us a 2 mile walk or a 30 minute wait in the rain for a bus. When we got to town we waited out the rain for a while and ate lunch. When it appeared that the bulk of the storm was over we finally set off for Vermont. This was our first significant road walk on the AT, but it wasn't really too bad, mainly just a mile or so over the road bridge to get us over the Connecticut River, then under interstate 91, then about anothe mile on a back road to put us back in the woods. The trail remains gently graded and good. It was a little slippery in spots because of the rain last night.We reached the shelter around 3:30 unsure if we would stop for the night or just eat lunch and full up on water. A brief but heavy shower made the decision for us and we made camp close to the shelter.   There are 5 other SOBOs here. We thought we were last, but obviously there are still a few behind us.
Date: 2008-09-12
From: Woodstock, VT

To: Rutland, VT
Miles today: 0.0

Off trail in Rutland, VTSpent the early part of the day doing laundry and trying to figure out how to get out of here. Even if I'm just going to take some time off to give my knees a break, obviously I need to find somewhere else to do it. Woodstock is just too expensive. I looked at options for getting back to Florida, staying somewhere round here a while, or skipping down the trail some miles and waiting out my knees a while. There is no cheap option, but in the course of looking at the options I did figure out that a one way car rental to somewhere, was probably the best option to get me somewhere, and put Chill back on the trail where we got off yesterday, and allow us to run a few errands first. As for where to one way to? That's still a little up in the air. I have a good friend in New York state that has offered a bed for as long as I need it, but it's a couple hundred miles from the AT. I'd love to see her for a while though, and it could still keep the possibility of returning to the trail alive, which is not likely to happen if I return to Florida for a break. By the end of the afternoon we had picked up a rental car, worked on some electronic related errands we needed to get done, retrieved our bounce boxes from Manchester Center, and found a cheaper motel in Rutland. The primary thing we didn't get achieved was getting Chill back on the trail, but he had some gear issues to attend to that just took too long to achieve today. Hopefully we can get him back to the trail early tomorrow, and I'm headed somewhere, probably NY.
Date: 2008-09-13
From: Rutland, VT

To: Off Trail in NY
Miles today: 0.0

Off Trail in NYLeaving my hiking partner at the trail and driving away was the hardest thing I have done so far on this trail. I know I had to do it: I can't ask Chill to sacrifice his hike for my bad knees, and I know it is more like me having to give up my hike to give him a chance to continue and complete his hike, but we've been through so much together already, as a team, that I felt like I was abandoning him.He hiked away it of sight and I drove off, tearing up!The silver lining to this cloud is Mary. By the time I reached NY she was waiting on the curb outside her house for me. Five minutes and several hugs later we were sitting on the porch catching up, Mike's hard lemonade in hand, and watching the rain fall. I know I'm welcome here for as long as it takes for my aching knees to make my decision for me.
Date: 2008-09-27
To: The knees have made the decision
Miles today: 0.0

My knees have made the decision for me: My hike is finished for this year. It¢s been a very hard decision, that vacillates daily, and sometimes hourly. It¢s very easy to believe that you can continue hiking when you¢re sitting in a warm, dry place, well fed, clean and not stinking, and not actually having to hike anywhere. The reality is though, that my knees just aren¢t up to it. I can walk around town just fine for a while, but the right knee has a constant creak and click, and will suddenly feel like something has come loose in there. If I attempt to get back on the trail maybe I¢ll last a couple of days, but the extra weight on my back and strain of the terrain will almost certainly have me back on painkillers within a few days. The pills upset my stomach; I can¢t eat and can¢t sustain my energy. Backpacking food is not very appetizing at the best of times, but having to force myself to eat more re-hydrated food that I can¢t even stomach, then being sick with it anyway it destroying my will to hike.The reality of this situation is that I¢m already a month or more behind schedule to complete the entire hike. It¢s already starting to get colder in the mornings than I really like to wake up to. If I were feeling fit and full of food energy I might be able to deal with the cooler weather, but with a gimpy knee and feeling energyless I¢m not sure I want to deal with it. If I feel that way from the warmth and comfort of Mary¢s house, I know how I¢ll feel from a cold damp tent or shelter. I know I could skip ahead several hundred miles to where I should be (according to my maildrop schedule), and that would temporarily put me at least in some warmer temperatures, but my knee would still be an issue, and I would also still have to come back at some stage to complete the missing miles.So the thru hike has become a section hike. If my knees recover by not hiking, them maybe I¢ll come back here next summer and continue south. If life takes me in another direction, then so be it. That¢s what life does.I¢m back in Florida now, soaking up some sunshine and trying to decide what to do with the remainder of the year. I feel like I missed out on summer, having only had hot sunny weather for the two or three weeks in late May and early June between returning from Europe and setting out in Maine. The sunshine therapy feels good, but the decision on what to do for the remainder of the year is hard, and not helped much by the sunshine and heat. My primary option is to return to Europe for a couple more months, but the weather in England and Spain is not much different than I just ran away from in New England. There are other trails I would like to hike out in the desert southwest, and the weather is prime for hiking out there right now. I¢m not sure the knee is up to that though.   I guess I¢ll just go lay out at the pool and think about it some more¢¦¢¦
Date: 2007-11-23
To: ga-me on 08!
Miles today: 0.0

The growing certainty that I'm going to make my second attempt at a thru hike this spring instead of waiting to 09 has lead me here to this page. Lyme disease brought my 07 journey (Bhikkhu 07) to a screeching halt at Duncannon Pennsylvania but I've recovered from that and am now raring to go at it again. I know, it's really weird, why not just start where I left off? After all it was over half way. I think that any of you who are reading this who was forced off the trail involuntarily do to injury, illness, or other reasons, will understand exactly why. It just grows on you. It gets in your blood. Despite all the pain, fatigue, and general suffering, I just loved it. Maybe you have to be a bit masochistic, I don't know. And Katahdin has become my sacred Mountain. It's my Mount Kailas (the sacred mountain of Tibet). And the trail for me is a spiritual arena where I practice walking meditation, as well as it being a rollicking good adventure. It just wouldn't be the same doing only half for me. Plus I absolutely loved the spring time in the Southern Appalachians. Incredibly beautiful. So I look forward to meeting my fellow 08'ers and feel free to drop me a line.
Date: 2007-12-03
To: mind makes a promise
Miles today: 0.0

When I started the trail last spring I only gave my self a fifty-fifty chance at best on being able to complete it. I simply didn't have a clue how my body, with a chronic illness called Crohn's disease, would react to the considerable daily stress of a long distance hike. It was unknown territory for me. And because the illness, which is under control right now, is unpredictable, I won't even know until March whether or not my body is going to be up to the hike this spring. But the mind is willing! And now I know for certain, from last years experience, that it's possible for me to complete a thru hike.    So I'd like to encourage anybody else who is considering a thru hike but has chronic health problems to give it a go. The human body is amazingly adaptable and can often do what maybe considered impossible by a conservative mind set. But that being said, my advise is that if you are over 40, and/or have health issues, give yourself plenty of time, a good diet, and a good budget! And then see how far you can go. This time, my mind is making a promise that I'm sure my body CAN fill.   Oddly enough, I'm much more excited about my second attempt than I was about my hike last spring. I think it's because I know how incredibly challenging this hike is. And I love a challenge. And how incredibly beautiful. And how powerful an experience it turns out to be. If I have the health, there is really nothing in the world I'd rather do than get back out there. God willing.
Date: 2008-01-02
To: feelings
Miles today: 0.0

Reading Stumpknocker's journal yesterday that kicked off the 2008 thru hiking season with his start on New Year's day, brought back the reality of the trail for me as my experience last year often has a dream like quality to it, almost another reality. Strange that something so intensely real can end up seeming like a dream! Every time I'm outside I just can't wait to get back at it doing the thing all over again. But sometimes at night when I can't sleep and I think about the upcoming journey, my body remembers the hard times, the endless effort it took to keep going, and then there is a brief feeling of foreboding, a low level sense of dread, something saying that maybe it was a bit too much. But this is a feeling that I'm happy to ignore because OF COURSE it was a bit too much. That's precisely the fun of it!   Every day memories of the trail bubble up and I'm constantly surprised at how much of it I actually remember. Though of the 1,140 miles that I hiked I'm sure that what seems a lot is only really a small fraction of what I saw. It wasn't all beautiful, and it certainly wasn't all fun, but the thing that I remember most was that I really was loving every minute of it, with the exception, of course, of those occasional miserable seconds, hours, or days. And I often walked in joy, in bliss, and in the perfect contentment with what I was doing. There is really nothing much more worth doing than hiking the Appalachian trail. At least for me.   It's been cold and snowy as usual here in Jackson Hole and I'm already dreaming of birdsong, young green leaves, and the wildflowers that grace the trail in the spring.
Date: 2008-01-09
To: You can see by my outfit....
Miles today: 0.0

You can see by my outfit that I am somewhat retro. Or call me old school. Now I don't normally talk about equipment as I believe different things work for different people. But on the trail last year my old external frame Jansport pack did receive some disparaging looks from some of my fellow thru hikers. So I must come to its defense. It's an old friend after all. And maybe the defense of the one or two other thru hikers in '08 that might be still using one. Now I know that these folks were just young and ignorant and probably never even tried on an external frame pack. So I forgave them. Also they were assuming because my pack was twice as big it was also twice as heavy. Not true. It weighed in at 4.5 pounds. Not any more than many smaller internal frame packs. This year I've had to use a pack bag from another Jansport that I had picked up at the thrift store for $5.00 as the original bags zipper on the main compartment was starting to fail and I know would never make it to Maine. So I'm still using last years frame with an almost brand new bag. I've had to strip it down of many useless accoutrement's designed for climbing Everest or something, but it's still a little heavier than last years pack at five pounds.   I'm also a bit old school in that I like my comforts and am willing to pay the price in weight to carry them. Themarest pad, Hubba tent, book, camera, warm clothes and sleepingbag as I get cold easily, simmerlite stove, etc., and my pack without food or water was 23 pounds at the start and 19 at summer weight. My food bag is always the heaviest item as do to digestive illness I have to use highly nutritious foods that are a little heavier than your average oatmeal and ramen. One of the great benefits of an external frame pack that I discovered last summer goes agaist the conventional packing wisdom that I believed for the 35 years that I've been backpacking. They say that if you put the heaviest items low down and as far in as possible you get the best balance. But I found that putting my food bag on top of the pack, because of the natural forward lean of a hiker, actually shifted the center of balance so far forward that it completely eliminated the backward pull of the pack allowing me of send all the weight strait to my hips. Hard to get the weight high enough for this to work on an internal frame pack. It has to be up around your head. Now I must say that a five pound (empty) pack is a little more than I would like and I'll be looking with some interest when I stop in the outfitters along the way. If I find something better, I'll probably buy it and join the internal frame crowd. But it's hard to beat $5.00 for a backpack!