morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2009-03-12
To: From the Homefront
Miles today: 0.0

I set my mind to hike the Appalachian Trail in August of 2008, but it was 8 or 9 years ago that the idea first crept into my mind. Once my mind was made up I wasn't going to let anything keep me from the AT. Not my student loans. Not the economy. Not a lack of funds. As I told people about my plan everyone asked me the same question: Are you going to keep a blog? Initially I wasn't going to keep a blog, but then I decided it would be for the best to appease the masses and blog about my experience. So this blog is for all those who care to follow me on my 2174 mile trek.My road to Springer Mountain, GA, my starting point, first takes me to Chattanooga, TN. I have an aunt and uncle who live there and they are going to take me to Springer Mountain and hike the first 3 miles of the trail with me. My trip begins on Monday when I board a bus for Chattanooga.
Date: 2009-03-17
To: View Entry
Miles today: 0.0

My trip has officially begun. I arrived in Chattanooga, TN last night to spend the week with my aunt and uncle. I'm going to hang out here for the week, get my pack situated, and buy supplies. My aunt and uncle are preparing to put their house on the market so they have a few projects lined up for me to do while I'm here. Other than that I plan on relaxing until we head off to Amicola State Park this weekend.
Date: 2009-03-20
From: Springer Mountain, GA

To: View Entry
Miles today: 0.0

The day that I've been waiting for 6 months to arrive is finally here. I'm heading down to Amicola Falls State Park tomorrow with my aunt and uncle. I'll spend Saturday either in the park or hiking up to Springer Mountain. It's about a nine mile hike to Springer Mountain, the southern end of the AT. Either way my first full day on the AT will be Sunday. With any luck I'll be arriving at Mount Katahdin in Maine in about 5.5 months. I'll try to post something every couple weeks or so to keep you guys informed of my whereabouts and happenings.
Date: 2009-03-29
From: Hiawassee, GA

To: View Entry
Miles today: 67.5

What a week of extremes.The first 4 days of the hike were perfect. 60 degrees with sunshine. The last 3 not so much. 40 degrees with constant downpours.   We got off the trail Friday afternoon and sought shelter at a Holiday Inn so we could get clean and dry. The weather was more of the same on Saturday so we took a zero day.Kirk, Jamie, Samantha, and Rosco dropped me off at Amicalola State Park last Saturday. The park was neat and the falls was pretty cool. They hiked the first 2 miles of the approach trail with me and then set me off on my own. I made it to Springer Mountain right at sunset. The next couple of days I spent hiking with a group of about 12 people who all had about the same pace. We would leap frog each other during the day and end up at the same spot at night. I ended up spending most of my hike with Mary Poppins, Too-tall, and Many-Names; the last two being the people I'm at the Holiday Inn with.The last 3 days on the trail were spent cold and wet. Everything got soaked to the bone. The trail became a slipery muddy mess, which made hiking interesting. Along the way we've had some trail magic. There have been people waiting in parking lots handing out snickers and powerades to hikers and we were able to hitch a ride into town despite being drenched. Two fellow hikers have been especially generous to Too-tall, Many-Names and I. Wild Bill, Rock, and their wives have done a lot for us. They have done their own bit of trail magic for us and it has been much appreciated and will not be soon forgotten.I'm setting off for the trail at 8 am today and will be entering North Carolina by days end.
Date: 2009-04-07
From: Fontana Dam, NC

To: View Entry
Miles today: 96.2

I made it to Fontana Dam Sunday evening. The weather that day was gorgeous. It was pushing 80 degrees and the sun was shining brightly. Many-Names and I were going to head off into the Smokies Monday morning after picking up our mail drops at the post office. Many-Names' mail drop hadn't arrived yet, so we waited to see if it would be delivered later that day. So we went back to the shelter and hung out for a couple hours. While we were there, the ridge runner stopped by and warned us not to go into the mountains because there was a winter storm warning for the area. The forcast was calling for 6-10 inches of snow in the mountains with winds up to 60 mph. We stuck around another night and woke up to about 1 inch of snow on the ground. It was beautiful seeing the snow on the ground, I'm really glad we weren't up in the mountains for it though. After 2 zero days we, along with the 20 other people in the shelter, are going to set off tomorrow.I had the most amazing trail magic experience the other day. Every year around his birthday Hopeful, a past thru-hiker and friend of the trail, throws a bash for hikers at a gap. His family and friends come down and they cook a bunch of food. They had hot dogs with all the fixings, cole slaw, potato salad, chips, baked beans, root beer, snack cakes, and candies. It was delicious. Many-Names and I stayed there for about 2.5 hours chowing down and chatting with people. The only down side was after all that food we still had 2.5 miles to hike til the next shelter. All is well on the AT. Still hiking and still having fun.
Date: 2009-04-16
From: Hot Springs, NC

To: View Entry
Miles today: 108.1

I survived the Smokies in one piece. I finally got into the Smokies after taking 2 zero days waiting for the weather to clear up. The Smokies were not very kind to us this year. I had all kinds of weather there. Rain, sleet, hail, snow, fog, thunderstorms, you name it. The trail itself was a mess, between the snow drifts and the mud it was the most difficult stretch of the trail so far. All that being said, it was quite the experience. The one real bummer is that the day I got to Clingman's Dome it was cold and foggy. The very next day though I was treated to an amazing sunrise with the sun rise over mountains in the east and the moon setting over a valley blanketed in fog to the west.Once I got out of the Smokies I stopped at a real chill place called Standing Bear Farm. It's a hostel that sits right off the trail just outside the Smokies. Many-Names and I treated ourselves to pizza and Pringles as a reward for making it out of the Smokies. We were feeling pretty good after that meal so we decided to go on a little night hike. That little night hike ended up being several hours and hiked a total of 25 miles that day. A couple days later we arrived in Hot Springs, a very nice little town. The AT runs straight down the main drag. When we got to town they were moving a caboose, which apparently was one of the biggest things to happen there in a while as everyone was watching the spectacle. We stayed at a place called the Sunnybank Inn. It is an old Victorian style house with a lot of character. I had a delicious 4 course organic vegetarian dinner of soup, salad, a rice and bean casserole, and rice pudding. This morning for breakfast they served biscuits and gravy, grits, eggs, cereal, and fresh fruit. It's been a while since I've been that full. Next stop Erwin, TN where John and Ben are going to join me for a week long outing. Should be fun times ahead.
Date: 2009-04-22
From: Erwin, TN

To: View Entry
Miles today: 68.1

It's been a fun week since I left Hot Springs. Hot Springs was a difficult town to leave. The pace of life in the town was really slow and it was all too easy to get sucked into the vortex of the town, which explains why I didn't leave town until 1.30 in the afternoon and then it took me 2 hours to go about 1.5 miles. On my trek out of town I ran into Ukranian missionaries from Florida who were completely shocked that anyone would want to walk from Georgia to Maine. I chatted with them for a long time, answering their myriad questions about what it's like to backpack. The nice thing about leaving Hot Springs was meeting up with a new group of people on the trail. Many-Names and I have been hiking with Firecracker, Burning Man, Bonnie, and Teigan since we left Hot Springs. It's been tons of fun hanging out with some new faces, sharing some new laughs. Though I haven't forgotten the old faces and laughs. Too-Tall, Wild Bill, and Rock are three people that I find hard to forget.We had some delicious trail magic from Hercules and F.A.L., a couple who thru-hiked in 1999. They live about 1/4 mile off the trail and they invited us to their house for a meal. We had Belgian waffles, a cheesy egg puff, pork stew with homemade bread, and a choice of desserts; my choice being a brownie sundae. I must have eaten about a loaf of bread by myself. They have been doing this for 5 years and they have served over 2000 hikers. They were really great people, and the memory of their hospitality kept me going through the 3 days of rain we had after meeting them.We've had so many wet days that I decided to start to keep a log of how many days we have had some form of precipitation, be it rain, sleet, snow, hail. Counting today, I've been on the trail for 32 days and have encountered something wet falling from the sky 17 of those days. I saw a sticker at a hostel that read "No Rain, No Pain, No Maine," and so far that seems pretty accurate.
Date: 2009-05-03
From: Damascus, VA

To: View Entry
Miles today: 123.1

It's been a pretty week. We had a stretch of about 10 days without any rain. It was bright and sunny and warm. I couldn't really ask for much better weather during those days. Especially since John and Ben joined up with Many-Names and I at Erwin, TN and hiked with us to Watuaga Dam. It was tons of fun hanging out with those two again. They picked a really nice stretch of the trail to hike. In fact, it was just ranked the 23rd best adventure trip to take in the US by National Geographic Adventure Magazine. We hiked up to some balds and spent a solid couple hours doing nothing but soaking up the sunshine. I unfortunately soaked up a little too much and got sunburn on the back of my legs. That made hiking a bit painful for a couple days. From the balds we stayed at the coolest shelter thus far on the trail. It was an old barn that had been converted to a shelter. The last few days John and Ben was with us were really chill. We stayed at a hostel called Kincora and did a bit of slack-packing to see Laurel Falls. Of the three falls we saw during the past week, Laurel Falls was the best. At the end of John and Ben's adventure, Ben's mom picked us up and did a bit of trail magic for us by taking us into Johnson City to an all you can eat Chinese buffet. That was much appreciated as I have been craving Chinese food since the start of the trail.I'm now in Virginia, and seeing how the trail runs for about 550 miles in Virginia I'm going to be in this state a while. From what I've heard it's one of the nicest 550 miles of the trail. I shall wait and see.
Date: 2009-05-13
From: Bland, VA

To: View Entry
Miles today: 120.0

Yes, there actually is a town called Bland. And yes, the name is kind of fitting. I've taken it pretty easy since I left Damascus. Trail Days is this weekend and I didn't want to get caught in the middle of nowhere with no way to get back to Damascus. Trail Days is a big hiker get together that is held every year in Damascus. It is a chance for hikers to get together and share some good times. It pretty much turns tiny little Damascus into one big campsite. There will be free food and music, so of course there will be good times to be had there. I'm looking forward to seeing some hikers that are behind me on the trail.May is turning out to be a microcosm of the trip. It has rained 10 out of the 12 days of May so far. But it hasn't been too terribly bad, there was only one day when I thought I'd never get warm and dry again. Even with all the rain, there have been some awesome sights. The Highlands of Virginia are one of the most unique places on the trail so far. They are essentially a large, rocky grassland with very few trees and large rock outcrops everywhere. I was somewhat reminded of the Southwest in the way the only tall trees were pines and the rocky terrain. There are feral ponies that live in the Highlands as well. They were a treat to see. I was taking a photo of a young pony when it came right up to me and stuck its head under my hand. I started scratching its head and it moved its head around so I could scratch other parts, much like a dog.
Date: 2009-05-26
From: Catawba, VA

To: View Entry
Miles today: 115.8

Trail Days was a blast. It was fun seeing hikers I haven't seen since the first week and catching up with them. I also realized that there's a lot more people hiking the trail than the few people I've come across. The Hiker Parade was really fun. The hikers all walked down Main Street while the people of the town threw water balloons at us. It was pretty hot out so it was nice and refreshing. I've had pretty good weather and pretty good hiking since leaving Trail Days. Spring is finally here. The forest has come alive as of late - the trees have leaves, the flowers are in bloom, and the amount of wildlife I've seen has picked up. It has been tons of fun thus far and the fun will only continue. My dad is coming out to join me for a week and I'm stoked about that. I've had the most amazing trail magic experience the past couple of days. Hobbitt and Knickers, 2 fellow hikers, and I went to an awesome family-style all you can eat, down-home county cooking restaurant. As we were leaving, a couple drove up and offered the opportunity to shower and do laundry at their house. We took them up on that offer and they made us feel like we were part of their family. We ended up taking a zero day with them and kicking back and relaxing. It was the perfect way to spend Memorial Day. Briarpatch and Mandy have been two of the most kind-hearted, open people I've met on the trail. It has been awesome staying with them, they are trail angels in every sense of the word.
Date: 2009-06-05
From: Waynesboro, VA

To: View Entry
Miles today: 153.7

I had an awesome week with my Dad (who shall henceforth be referred to as Waldo). He came out and joined me for the section from the James River to Rockfish Gap. It is a 77 mile section that we anticipated taking about 7 days to complete. The whole trip was a blast. The first day we had a tough climb right away that was sort of a wake up call. We camped by a suspension bridge with C-Bass, a thru-hiker who is finishing up his hike from last year. We were about to start cooking dinner when a boy scout group came over and said they cooked too much food and offered us their leftovers. We gladly took them up on that offer and gorged ourselves on hamburgers, baked beans, and potatoes. It was the perfect way to end our first night. And it was cool that Waldo got to experience a bit of Trail Magic. We tackled another beast of a climb the second night and camped out in a field. This night Wampus Cat joined us and we spent the evening sitting around a pretend fire drinking Jim Beam. Good times were definitely had by all that night. For all but one of the days the temperature was right around 80 degrees, and the one day that the high was around 90 we spent the afternoon hanging out by a creek. Waldo skipped out on the last big climb and took a blue-blazed side trail around Three Ridges to check out a couple water falls while I went up and over the top. That is not to say that Waldo didn't hold his own on the trip. After anticipating 7 days, we made it to Rockfish Gap before 9.00 am on the 6th day. Waldo, C-Bass and I then went to a fantastic AYCE Chinese Buffet for 2 hours. Because we got done early, we had an extra day to kill, so on Friday Waldo and I went to Monticello, Thomas Jefferson's estate. It's only 30 miles from Waynesboro, so it was hard to pass up the opportunity. It was a little rainy, but otherwise it was a neat place.Before the trail I have been telling Waldo that I haven't seen much wildlife out on the trail. That all changed this week. Within the first few miles of the trail we saw a 4 foot black rat snake, a box turtle, and several species of lizards. We saw countless deer, including a fawn who could not have been more than a few days old. But the best, and scariest sighting of the week - and my trip to date - was a rattlesnake. It was just off trail and I nearly stepped on it. I jumped back as it coiled up and started to rattle. After it determined that we were not a threat, it continued on its way across the trail. That was when we really got to see the size of it. It stretched clear across the width of the trail; a good 3.5 - 4 feet in length. That has been the coolest wildlife sighting I've had on the trail.I'm off to begin the Shenandoahs.
Date: 2009-06-14
From: Harpers Ferry, WV

To: View Entry
Miles today: 160.9

I'm in Harpers Ferry, WV, the psychological halfway point of the trail. I'm so excited to be here. It's such a relief to be halfway, but at the same time I know I still have a long road ahead of me. But my spirits have been lifted even higher just by getting here and I'm excited for the next half of the trail.After Waldo left I started the Shenandoahs, which were beautiful. I was hiking with a group of about 8 other hikers, which was the most thru-hikers I had seen in about 2 weeks. I spent most of the Shenandoahs with Wampus Cat, Fat Kid, Kiwi, Bonesy, and Rocket. The trail thru the Shenandoahs was pretty easy compared to other portions. The trail was very well maintained and relatively flat. As a result, it wasn't all that difficult to do big days in the park. The wildlife in the park was very tame. Deer would be feeding 10 feet off the trail and not even budge when you passed. I saw many young fawns that showed no fear of people at all. Though it could be that I was so sweaty and smelly because it was so hot and humid that they could not distinguish me as a person. I saw bear two different times in the park. The first time I saw a cub in a tree and the second time I saw a bear with 2 cubs. When the bear saw me she sat down and stared at me. She was about 20-30 yards away and her cubs were with her so I wasn't too worried. Eventaully she got tired of me staring at her and taking her picture and she carried on. I did a night hike with 4 other hikers on the full moon and saw a bobcat, which was really cool. At first all I saw were a pair of eyes staring at me just off the trail. It wasn't until it ran off that we could tell what it was. I also saw a rattlesnake on the night hike; it was hanging out on the trail and not happy that we woke it up. All in all the Shenandoahs were a success - good sights, good hiking, good people, good times.
Date: 2009-06-25
From: Hamburg, PA

To: View Entry
Miles today: 193.8

I've had some exciting times since Harpers Ferry. Kiwi and I took a Zero Day and went into Washington DC from Harpers Ferry. We spent the day on the National Mall seeing all the sights. We saw the Capitol Building, Washington Monument, Lincoln Memorial, WWII Memorial, Korean War Memorial, Vietnam War Memorial, and last but not least the White House. We then went to the Natural History and Air and Space Museums to round out the exhausting day. We left on a 7.00 am train and returned on a 7.15 pm train back to Harpers Ferry. The day prior we met Bluemoon, a trail angel who was having a cookout in town for hikers. We were the only two who showed up, which was cool because we got to eat a ton and he offered to take us back to his place for the night. Bluemoon was awesome. We showered and did laundry at his place and he gave us a ride to the train station in the morning and picked us up and took us back to his place for a second night. He even packed us sack lunches to take into DC so we wouldn't have to buy lunch in town. His kindness was much appreciated. We breezed through Maryland, it was only about 40 miles, and it was mainly flat and rocky. Just before we made it to Pine Grove Furnance State Park we crossed the mid point of the trail - 1089.1 miles. It is tradition to go to the camp store at the park and partake in the Half Gallon Challenge, which is eating a half gallon of ice cream to celebrate being half way done with the trail. I gladly took up the challenge, Moose Tracks being my flavor of choice, and I arose victorious. For my efforts I was rewarded with a tiny wooden spoon signifying my entrance into the Half Gallon Challenge Club. So far the trail in Pennsylvania has been pretty easy and monotonous. It consists of ridge walking; some of it flat, some of it rocky. The rocky sections vary from tiny rocks to boulders. I'm hiking with Kiwi, Couscous, and Stud the Dud and they have made the rocky monotony very enjoyable. We plan on averaging about 20 miles a day for the next week so we can set ourselves up for a trip into New York City over the Fourth of July. I originally had no intention of going to New York City, but I wanted to be in a town over the Fourth of July to see the festivities. But it has been Kiwi's plan all along to go to NYC and when Couscous mentioned she wanted to go into NYC for the Fourth I was hooked.I am officially in the home stretch of my trip. I have passed the mid point and I have been on the trail for a little more than 3 months. It's neat to think of it that way, but at the same time I know I still have many more miles to cover before I'm done.
Date: 2009-07-12
From: Norfolk, CT

To: View Entry
Miles today: 281.4

Well, I decided not to go into NYC for the Fourth of July. Things just didn't work out logistically and financially, but it was all for the best. I ran into Ironman on July 4th, whom I hadn't seen since late April. It was neat running into a familiar face on the trail for a change. Lately I've been meeting a whole new group of people. Ironman and I hiked up to Mombasha High Point because 30 miles on the distant horizon NYC is visible. The plan was to camp up there and watch the fireworks from NYC. Right at dark Bonesy and Andy, two fellow hikers, came up to join us. The 4 of us were treated to a fireworks display like no other. The NYC show was amazing, we had a great vantage point even though we were so far away. There were several towns all around us that had firework displays of their own going on, so we had a 360 degree show all night. It was absolutely amazing. It was a great Fourth of July.In New York the trail passes right through the Bear Mountain State Park Zoo. It's not a big zoo, all the animals there have either been injured or abandoned and can't be reintroduced into the wild, but it was still a neat little zoo. It had a lot of animals that can be found around that area. It was really cool to walk through, I was itching to go to a zoo and I got my fix. As soon as we left the zoo we crossed the Hudson River on the Bear Mountain Bridge, an impressive suspension bridge. Walking over the Hudson on that bridge was definitely a memorable experience. I've been fortunate to have some beautiful weather accompanied by a beautiful trail through Connecticut. It's been right around 80 degrees with nothing but sunshine and I've been hiking through a lot of hemlock and white pines. Connecticut has been one of, if not the most, beautiful states thus far. Bonesy is from Norfolk, CT, about 25 minutes off the AT, and he invited Ironman and I to stay at his place for the night. It was a great night, Bonsey cooked steak and chicken and we had lemon cake and ice cream for dessert. The 3 of us lounged around for the rest of the day and watched some television. What made the stay even better was the fact that for the first time in about 8 days it stormed that evening. It was very nice to be in a house while it was pouring down rain with thunder and lightning as opposed to being in my tent. I'm off to finish up Connecticut and start Massachusetts today.