morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2018-10-16
From: Slaughter Creek Trail Campsite

To: Hogpen Gap
Miles today: 0.0

I woke up to a foggy morning and got up out of my tent around 6:30 am. The sleep was good but not great as I had to get use to the whole sleeping bag/pad experience on top of all my aches and pains. My friend Gary had magnanimously fetched my bear bag that was hung 100 yds down the bank and I heated up some water for my coffee and oatmeal.We quickly broke down our two campsites and Gary and I hiked back down the 1/10 of a mile to camel up on water. Shortly we climbed back loaded up our gear and the three of us  started our first major ascent up Blood mountain.The climb was tough but we all felt great when we reached the top and explored the oldest shelter on the AT. The two room stone structure in the fog reminded me of something out of a scary fairy tale, but was very cool non the less. Unfortunately there were no views to be seen as the clouds were upon us.We hiked down the steep wet slick rocks heading to Neel Gap and that¢s when it happened. I lost my footing but was able to stop my fall by planting my Leki poles down hard, too hard as one snapped in half. Fortunately nothing was hurt other than my equipment and pride. We finally made it to Neels Gap and ¢Just Bill¢ taped up my pole and also told me to soak my Sawyer filter and it would start working again (it did!)We traveled thru the portal ,the AT actually goes thru their building and climbed Levelland Mnt where we stopped for lunch. The rain started light at first and continued on to torrential downpour throughout the day. After lunch we quickly packed up and that¢s when I noticed a pain in my knee. The pain became excruciating with each step and I had at least five miles left in the day.My friends (trail mentors)would hike on and patiently wait for me to catch up. Inspite of this set back,I was still having a great time and looked forward to setting up camp and sleeping the pain off. However the rain got harder and the trail became a  shallow fast moving creek . 4 miles later I arrived at Tesnatee Gap and my friends suggested we get off the trail but I wanted to push to the shelter at Whitley Gap. BIG mistake!! The climb up Wildcat mountain was very steep and I was beat,hurt and very wet. When I finally got to the Hogpen trail Junction it was almost five pm and soon to get dark and the shelter was 1.2 miles off the trail... I graciously accepted defeat and I hobbled down to Hogpen Gap where my friends had secured us a ride home. My 4 day hike was cut to 2 days...Update tomorrow
Date: 2018-10-17
From: Blairsville Ga

To: Brasstown Bald
Miles today: 0.0

This morning when I woke up , the swelling in my knee had subsided. I hobbled down the stairs and rolled out my leg with a hand held roller. Although I felt much better it was probably a wise decision to come off the trail as twelve miles was probably going to be too tough today.Gary took me on a walking tour of his property and we made our way down to the creek, eventually my knee started to feel normal again and we decided to try a short but steep hike up to Brasstown Bald the highest point in GA. The climb went very well especially without the 30 lb backpack and the view was stunning as this was the first clear day of the week. The leaves are just starting to turn and I imagine it will be ¢on fire¢ in the next couple of weeks.The steep hike back down, I started to feel the familiar pain in my knee, again probably a good idea we were off the trail. I learned many lessons this week from equipment failures to hanging a bear bag. I have some serious strength and aerobic training to do and I¢ve got to whittle off some weight from my pack. The most important lesson I learned is that The mountains are calling my name and I¢ll be back in the Spring ready to thru-hike!
Date: 2018-11-11
To: View Entry
Miles today: 0.0

First of all I would like to thank LEKI for sending me a brand new set of poles to replace the one I snapped on the descent from Blood Mnt, Great customer service! It¢s fantastic to do business with a quality company that backs their warranty. Their products are well worth the price!Last week I met with my new friend ¢Stoic¢ who successfully thru hiked the AT this year. I gripped on to every word he said and made many notes after our meeting. He sold me some of his gear that I¢m very excited about. I purchased an Inreach Delorme radio which works off of satellite and has an emergency S.O.S feature and his ZPac Arc Haul Zip back pack  I mentioned in an earlier post that before my quest I would like to shed weight and this pack does just that. It weighs 27.5 ounces compared to my Osprey Atmos @ 4lbs 7 ounces. I tested it out this weekend on a 6.5 mile hike and the pack is very comfortable and surprisingly has a larger capacity of 64L compared to My Osprey at 50L. I uploaded the picture side by side and it sure looks smaller!I¢ve also ratcheted up my physical training incorporating several knee strengthening exercises. Hopefully I¢ll be more prepared for those climbs and descents. There are also quite a few good videos on the internet showing proper technique for hiking down steep grades. Who knew?
Date: 2018-11-19
To: View Entry
Miles today: 0.0

Saturday, I went for another 6 mile training hike. I carried close to 17 lbs but anticipate I will be closer to 30lbs on launch date. Recently I met with Stoic again and he sold me his ZPac Duplex tent. It is so light and easy to set up. I do like that it does not have any poles in fact you use your trekking poles to prop up the tent , very efficient. Thank you Stoic !I¢ve been shedding weight with my purchases and also recently replaced my Jet Boil with an inexpensive BRS stove very light and around $18.00 . So far close to 6 lbs saved total.The shake down hike on the AT in October was an awakening, I am way weaker than I thought and truly every ounce saved will help save my knees. Unfortunately I realize I will offset most of my weight savings with my winter gear. I just purchased a thermolite reactor liner for my 19 degree sleeping bag and it is heavy , also I may bring micro spikes ugg!Any way I have officially signed up on the Appalachian Trail Conservancy website. It looks like there will be at least 6 others starting on Feb 18th. Signing up isn¢t mandatory however it can help control overcrowded start dates and shelter/campsite  usage.Any way no backing out now!
Date: 2018-11-24
To: View Entry
Miles today: 0.0

I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving Holiday, Rhonda and I drove up to Sylacauga Alabama to spend Thanksgiving week with her father, and my brother and sister in law joined us as well.I took advantage of having some hills and small mountains to train on (yes I brought my pack!) In fact I was walking around a track near a Sylacauga elementary school when a nice lady asked me if I was familiar with Flagg mountain . I had never heard of it and yet it was only 15 miles away. So on Black Friday we loaded up the family and headed up to the mountain.Flagg mountain stands at 1,152¢ tall and truly it has some amazing views. It has a beautiful lookout 52¢ tower made out of stone circa 1933 ( check out my photo gallery). This mountain is the symbolic southern terminus of the Appalachian trail and at one time was pursued as the southern terminus of the AT. Imagine another 300 miles stretch....This is also the southern terminus of the Pinhoti trail and provides access to the Eastern Continental Trail  and the Great Eastern Trail. Check it out If you can , it¢s definitely worth the trip amazing views and history!As fantastic as the mountain is ,the highlight was meeting it¢s caretaker Dr. ¢Sunny¢ Eberhart aka  Nimblewill Nomad the famous triple crown hiker and author ! He¢s written several books you will recognize  Ten Million Steps the story about his epic ten month trek from the Florida Keys to Quebec . Sunny graciously invited us into his cabin and made us all feel like we were longtime friends. He is the most humble , caring individual I¢ve ever met and gave us so much of his time and genuinely cared about my upcoming thru hike attempt. I will never forget this meeting truly we were in the presence of greatness! Check out his website for some great information,video links, books etc. He is truly a legend.Nimblewill Nomad.com
Date: 2018-12-22
To: View Entry
Miles today: 0.0

Gear,gear gear... I updated my gear list and have added pretty much everything I plan to take minus the food and water. This list will probably change and hopefully be whittled down by the time I take off. The early start in February has me bringing extra weight which I will mail back home as soon as possible. Gear is very much a personal thing and truly we pack our fears. An experienced hiker would probably leave half the stuff I listed at home. Certainly I would appreciate any input on any additional necessary items and of course the ones listed that you would not bring (I got to have my pillow lol).  I¢m at 19lbs base weight which includes my propane but not my water and food. My goal is to give anyone who may be thinking about hiking  an understanding of what goes inside a pack. At least what is in mine.Thanks to everyone that has posted in my guestbook , it really is encouraging!
Date: 2018-12-26
To: View Entry
Miles today: 0.0

Merry Christmas to all! Rhonda and I came to visit her dad in Sylacauga Al for Christmas. Just like Thanksgiving I brought my loaded pack so that I can train on mountains and hills,truly the only way to train for a hike is to hike. Back home in Florida I do lunges ,squats,stair master...typical gym strength and aerobic training ,but the hikes I take are always on flat ground. Nothing replicates good ole mountains to stretch and strain those knees. I¢m happy to report that my additional knee strengthening exercises I do everyday seems to be helping as I¢m not hurt after two 6 mile days climbing up and down sometimes very steep hills.Today I went on a hike on Bull Gap mountain near my father-in-law¢s home. When I got to the trail head I realized that this section of the Pinhoti trail was a wild life management area and it is open season for deer hunting. Naturally I had not planned ahead and brought any hunter safety orange attire. Fortunately when I dug inside my backpack, I found my orange Leki pole bag and my sleeping bag liner bag which I use to store my micro spikes and tied both to the outside and walah instant orange shield of protection!The trail was beautiful and the weather perfect in the fifties approaching sixties as the day progressed. I was amazed at the views of the Alabama Appalachian mountain range. I¢ve included a link to the Pinhoti trail, if you are in the area you have to give it a try. The trail is well maintained and a large section was walking on a bed of pine needles litterly no impact on your legs at all however stay alert as the needles can be slick...When I got to the top of one particular mountain with a view ,I pulled out my cook kit to whip up some lunch. I was not particularly hungry but I like testing my gear and skills as an outdoor chef. I have a Toaks 650 titanium cook pot and a BRS stove which I screwed on to my fuel canister poured two cups *of water in and began to boil. The freeze dried chicken and rice package required two cups of boiling water which you simply pour in the bag and allow to simmer for 10 minutes. The brand I used today was not mountain house and it would not sit up by itself so I poured the contents into the pot and ate it from there. This of course is not the best case scenario as it then requires cleaning up afterwords , I¢m a chef not a dishwasher.* Two cups is pretty much the capacity of this pot, I thought that would be plenty big enough however I made some coffee today as well so I feel that I had to waste more fuel heating up another 8 ozs of water for my mud while my food simmered. So I think 750 would be a better size??? I forgot to mention I used my collapsible silicone Sea to Summit coffee cup it worked well but is no Yeti.After that I hiked back down the mountain and spent the rest of the day with my family. I hope everyone¢s Holidays is going well and may your 2019 be Awesome!https://rootsrated.com/birmingham-al/backpacking-camping/pinhoti-trail-backpacking
Date: 2019-02-05
To: View Entry
Miles today: 0.0

I spent the last couple of days hiking a small section of the Florida Trail with a full pack and so far my knees are holding up. I¢m also practicing packing and unpacking ,setting up my tent etc. All in the efforts to hopefully make everything hiking related second nature. I¢ll work on finalizing my food for the first four days tomorrow. I decided to treat my  Goretex gear with Revivex a product designed for waterproofing various fabrics. My Marmot Exum jacket is probably 10 years old and has effectively protected me from the elements , but I know I¢m about to live in a super wet environment. I also treated my tent,backpack,sleeping bag,shirts,pants,socks and trail runners with Permethrin. This product will repel mosquitoes but more specifically  ticks. I hate ticks they are tiny,very sneaky and can be deadly.  Definitely one of my fears. Speaking of fears I¢ve had many interesting conversations about my upcoming hike with various people and usually I¢ll get one of two reactions when I discuss hiking over 2,000 miles alone.  1. You are crazy!  2. You are very brave!  Hmmmm,Well maybe just a little bit crazy but certainly not very brave. I have plenty of fears  and will take a minute to jot them down in no particular order. Lightning, hypothermia,ticks (Lyme disease),frost bite, heat exhaustion, heights, tripping and falling, getting lost, bears, bad people, sickness on trail, broken bones and teeth, poisonous snakes, running out of food, running out of fuel, dangerous weather, water crossings, falling trees, dying from exposure... you get the idea , plenty of fears.Our division president recently addressed us at our national sales convention and said fear is not the same thing as as being scared. Two totally different things ,I believe fear is having a healthy respect for everything that can harm you and taking all necessary precautions to negate the possible risk. There are certainly those dangers on the trail but plenty of risks in everyday life here in the ¢real world¢ as well. Don¢t get me wrong, I appreciate all the prayers and well wishes, but just understand most hikers are not reckless thrill seekers or crazy.Brave? I hate ticks...
Date: 2019-02-10
To: View Entry
Miles today: 0.0

In my attempt to famiarize myself with my gear, I realized that I had not taken my micro-spikes out of the box much less tested for fit etc. So Saturday on mile 4 of my 6 mile hike with my overweighted back pack 31 lbs ( more on that in a bit), I tested them out on the sandy trail. They seem to fit very well as comfortable as you would imagine something like this to feel. For those of us from the south, micro spikes are like snow chains for your feet. They are critical in crossing icy patches on the trail. I actually hope I never have to use them.The brand I bought was relatively inexpensive compared to some. Uelfbaby crampon micro spikes (19.99) . They actually got a great review in an online article I read. If any of our northern friends have an insight to their integrity please let us know.Any way  to the weight of my pack,my scale is is unreliable as it weighed in at 28 lbs upon my return. I¢m still dialing it in for sure!
Date: 2019-02-17
To: View Entry
Miles today: 0.0

Rhonda, her dad and I arrived at Amicalola lodge yesterday afternoon. The  weather was absolutely spectacular and the park and lodge was crawling with the holiday weekend crowd. This lodge sits ontop of a mountain about 8 miles from the official Appalachian trail starting point at Springer Mountain Georgia. Monday morning I plan to hike the approach trail to the terminus.Well before I can start my hike I needed to officially check in. Thru-hikers check in at the visitor¢s station at the base of the mountain and falls. I signed in and was given a shiny new thru- hiker tag with the number 160. This means 159 other hikers have all started the trail since Jan 1 and are already on their way to Maine. Then I weighed in my pack on their scales and somehow my pack gained  another pound and I¢m now just a little over 31 lbs with 4 days food and water. Throw in my clothes, jacket I¢m wearing and easily total skin out weight is closer to 36 or 37. Still not terribly bad since this includes my heavier winter gear. The weather forecast for my first week is wet, wet and chilly. Well what do expect in February, snow?I¢m super excited and can¢t seem to get my butterflies in formation. Ready or not the adventure begins tomorrow morning!
Date: 2019-02-18
To: View Entry
Miles today: 0.0

It¢s 2:30 am , I can¢t sleep. No big surprise as I¢m literally stepping off into my dream in just a few hours,those butterflies never rest! It rained all day here at the Amicalola Lodge and the car thermometer read 38 degrees when we jumped in to head back down to the visitor center yesterday afternoon. Rhonda, her Dad and I took a final picture under the famous archway that starts the approach trail, Cold rain would not keep Dr.Zorn my father in law from taking the first steps with me. I am so blessed to have such a supportive family.Back at the Sylacauga home front aka operations headquarters ,Our dear friend Damien Perry is baby sitting our dog son Reagan a feisty Miniture Pincher that could probably run the entire 2192 miles of the trail. Oh by the way did any one notice that some one added two miles to the trail this year? Anyway Damien added a very cool Appalachian Trail Flag under Old Glory at my father-in-law¢s home Thank you D!!Yesterday was great as we met a few thru-hikers at the lodge and at the visitor center. Nick is a very nice young man from Pennsylvania, this guy has tree trunks for legs and though I hope to see him again he will most likely be in NC before I hit Springer. Actually he does plan to take it slow at first but my goodness his physical fitness Is amazing. Also one of my highlights today was meeting one of my fellow TrailJournals bloggers Brandon  aka ¢B¢ I¢ve enjoyed his site and have learned quite a bit from him. We got to meet his lovely parents as well! At the visitor center we sat through a ¢Leave no Trace¢ mini seminar very informative and there was a family of 5 three adults and two young boys that will be hiking thru as well. The youngest boy asked me how do you acquire a trail name ? He really liked my name Halo. I told him some traditionally receive their names on the trail by fellow hikers and the name can be for a variety of reasons ; something silly like going the wrong way, mooching food, slow hiker (turtle) the reasons go on. But certainly he could decide what name he accepts , My wife and I later thought we should have given him a very powerful trail name as he has tremendous energy. Maybe we will cross paths again no pun intended. I do certainly hope to see my new acquaintances again!I want to give a very special thanks to Ben,Kenya,Jackson,Destin,Branslee,Stana and Cyprus Hayes for the beautiful painting of ¢future me¢ on McAffe¢s Knob and the heartfelt poem Kenya wrote about my hike. The Hayes family is amazing! I now have to make the painting come true!A couple of hours and.....
Date: 2019-02-18
From: Springer Mountain 

To: Springer mountain Shelter 
Miles today: 0.2

Monday February 18thAfter breakfast  I started the approach trail towards Springer Mountain Georgia from the lodge .The morning was chilly but clear and not raining. My lovely wife and father in law took pictures and video taped me as I made my way up the trail it was a controlled emotional time as deep inside I was wondering what in the world am I doing? Of course I kept the brave face and hiding smile as I waved and walked off into the clouds.I hiked alone most of the day but met several day hikers and a trail ambassador named Jason who will be doing a thru hike this year. Brandon caught up with me and we hiked together for about a mile or so. That is the cool thing about this trail, you can hike your own pace feel totally alone but reality is there are hikers all up and down the trail, certainly a feeling of comfort!I made it to the top of springer at around 2:30 pm a bit tired but no serious pains. Here¢s the thing about the approach trail , the 8 miles do not count so after a tough day I only have .2 miles to show for it.When I arrived at the springer shelter I was greeted by Nick, Julian and Brandon . They had a great fire going and were all set up in the shelter. I quickly joined them and we all broke out our cook kits and had a wonderful dinner. Slowly but surely our camp began to grow as Daniel from Texas rolled in followed by Bue and Emily and White Flower from Germany also a father son team joined us later as well .So we have four of us in the down stairs part of the shelter and three upstairs and three tents outside.Hiker midnight came around 7 and we all climbed into our bags. Weird I woke up thinking it was early in the morning only to see it was 10PM .Once again I can¢t sleep! surprisingly no one is snoring the wind is howling but the temperature seems warmer , sure sign of rain
Date: 2019-02-19
From: Springer mountain Shelter 

To: Hawk mountain shelter 
Miles today: 7.9

Tuesday Feb 19We woke up to a rainy start this morning. I say we as we are developing a small group of hikers that are moving from shelter site to shelter site as a group , this is known as as a trail family or tramily. The forest rangers strictly encourage us to camp in designated camp sites to minimize our impact on the environment.The goal today was to hike to Hawk Mountain shelter another relatively short Milage day but with some good climbs and descents. Brandon our most experienced hiker decided to trek on to the next camp as he arrived to Hawk shelter way before us and would have had to sit around all day waiting for us, the man is a machine to take on additional mileage on a stormy wet day like today!! I hope to see him again soon. We did lose the nice lady from Germany ¢White Flower¢ today as she decided to go home. Another cool thing about the AT is that if you are ever injured or decide to tap out you are never too far from a car accessible gap. This weather will wear on even the toughest of us and I¢m not looking forward to putting on freezing wet clothes in the morning,We did have three new hikers at the shelter WOW ( words of wisdom) joined us tonight and he is from Australia . Rooster was already here as he took a zero (no miles day at the shelter )and Rebel from Arizona. Everyone pretty much has a trail name,we are still working on Julien our 19 year old fresh out of high school hiker. He¢s brilliant in many ways and we all want to get him the perfect one.Most of us are crammed into the shelter except Tex who¢s in his tent.Tex is awesome a big strong guy with a big heart.! Tomorrow Gooch Mountain shelter , but this will be a challenging day as first we have to climb Sassafras and then Justice mountain. BTW The AWOL AT guide is a great book to get , David Miller puts this out every year with changes as needed. It is a very comprehensive guide book, map for the AT and you can visually keep up with all on the trail.Today was a wet, cold, thundering day and I can hear the rain pounding against our shelter but tonight I am safe and dry in my sleeping bag super excited about tomorrow¢s adventures!