morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2010-03-11
To: View Entry
Miles today: 0.0

                        Welcome                        Randy and Doyle's                      " WALK FOR THE KIDS "   Thursday evening and the supplies have been rolling in little by little. Doyle went to the vet yesterday and got caught up with his shots. The vet said he doesn,t care how much weight I carry but to go easy on Doyle. They say a dog can carry 1/3 of his weight. Seems a bit much to me. Doyle weighs about 75 lbs. and he has been carrying about 15 lbs. That will be the max. When he walks with his pack, he stays close and walks pretty much the same miles as me. Without his pack he does about 4 times the mileage that I do. So when he starts complaining about his pack, I will just have to remind him that without his pack he would end up doing about 8,800 miles to get to Katahdin.   Tomorrow is my visit to Dr. Martin, I hope there are no shots involved with my visit. Some of the guys from Tufts Gym took me out to lunch and it was nice to have Dr. Martin join us. They bought me a few things they thought I could use on the trail. I guarantee I will be the only one on the trail with a T.V.   One of my buddies showed up with 3 medals hanging from his neck { we won't mention any names } but Tony had won ....did I say Tony....oops too late. He had won them for coming in 3rd in a 3 man race. Anyway some of the guys thought I should get a medal if I finish the AT. I want one of Tony's medals. Now it is up to you guys to get that medal from Tony. I think he sleeps with them, and I know he will be kicking and screaming when you attempt to relieve him of one.   I would like to thank everyone that left me a message on the journal page, it comes directly to my e-mail and I am going to need all the well wishes I can get to finish the AT.   As always, if you are enjoying the journey, please think of the kids and donate to the Jimmy Fund..........Danielle Grossman                                 Jimmy Fund Walk                                 10 Brookline Pl. West                                 6th Floor                                 Brookline, MA 02445   You can send a check to Danielle by mail or you can call and use a credit card....617-632-5029..........danielle_grossman@dfci.harvard.edu                                                                     Thanks                                    Randy and Doyle
Date: 2010-03-21
From: Springer Mountain, Georgia

To: Maine
Miles today: 8.0
Weather: overcast clouds

                              Welcome                           Randy and Doyle's                        " WALK FOR THE KIDS "   Sunday afternoon. Made it to Neels Gap this morning. Rained all morning as we went up and over Blood Mountain. Windy, no visability, just put your head down and walk. I have a lot to figure out with my camping skills, or lack of,but that will come in time. should have it down pat by the time I hit Maine.   First night there were about 30 people in camp. Doyle escaped from the tent as I got up to go to the bathroom. One and a hlf hours later I still trying to get him. he was freaked out by the headlamp and this new adventure I got him into. I went back in the tent and everytime someone made a move, Doyle started barking and he has a very deep bark. Needless to say everyone wanted to meet the owner of Doyle the next morning. But they were all quite nice about it.   So with no sleep I had to do about 8 miles to the next shelter. As we entered the campground Doyle started playing with a young dog, so I took his pack off and let him run. I was talking with this gentleman Bruce when I saw Doyle grab a Container from a campsite. I had to chase him about a half mile down hill. I saved the food and the bottom of container but lost the top. I found the owner and he was great about it. I felt terrible. Suddenly Bruce said " he has another one." Down the hill again running through thorns and bushes because I knew if I lost sight of him i WOULD NEVER FIND WHAT HE HAD. Turned out to be a water dish from the dog he was playing. How to make friends, the Doyle method. When I got back with the bowl Bruce says " I have a 38 if you need it. everyone got a good laugh and Doyle went to lockdown the rest of the night. This is turning into the adventures of Doyle. As always if you are enjoying the journey . Please remember the kids and donate to the Jimmy Fund.Danielle GrossmanJimmy Fund Walk10 Brookline Pl West6th FloorBrookline, MA 02445617-632-5029Thanks Randy and Doyle
Date: 2010-03-28
From: Springer Mountain, Georgia

To: Maine
Miles today: 96.0
Weather: overcast clouds

                              Welcome                           Randy Doyle's                        "WALK FOR THE KIDS   Small victories, that is what you look for out here. Finished Georgia yesterday and headed into North Carolina. Also passed the 100 mile mark. At 104 right now.   Back to Georgia for a bit. The people in and around the hiking community of Georgia are fantastic. Every person I have come in contact with have been kind, patient and very helpful. They have what they call Trail Magic and Trail Angels out here. Every now and then you will come near a road. Could be a main road or a forest road and suddenly there are a bunch of people waving you over. Sometimes they have cold drinks and sometimes they have the whole cookout thing going. Hot dogs, hamburgs, chilli, every snack you can imagine and even cherry cobbler. It is hard to describe the feeling when you meet these people but it hits you right in the heart. After comming out of the woods, tired, hungry, lack of sleep they put a bounce in your step and you head back into the woods with a happy wonderful {not to mention full belly} feeling.   Sometimes these people are from church groups or hiking clubs or previous thru hikers or neighbors who enjoy meeting people from all over the world who come to enjoy there trails. There were 3 of us hiking together when we came down to a camping area and there were 3 coolers with a sing that said 'WELCOME TO THE 2010 THRU HIKERS" They had cold drinks, all kinds of snacks and a cooler of every kind of first aid you would need on the trail. Duct tape, hand sanitizer, women's stuff. NOT EVEN A NAME of who left it. These are some special people. Thank You Gergia.   Well it rained last night. Had to pack up camp in the rain and walk 10 miles to make it to a shuttle to town. Couldn't cook so Doyle and I had a couple of breakfast bars and headed out. After coming over a tough climb, there they were calling me in. They said we were the first ones by today so we deserve to share breakfast with them. Sausage, eggs, crispy cremes, the rain didn't matter any more. It was an easy hike out.   Well, that's it for now and as always if you are enjoying the journey, please remember the kids. Call Danielle Grossman      617-632-5029 at the JIMMY FUND.                        Thank You                           Randy and Doyle
Date: 2010-04-03
From: Springer Mt, Georgia

To: Maine
Miles today: 64.0
Weather: clear sky

                                 Welcome                     Randy {The Wizard} and Uncle Doyle's                           "WALK FOR THE KIDS"   Well, we have our trail names. Going up up over Blood Mt on a rainy and windy day I had two young men behind me. When they found me in Neel,s Gap and told me with the wind whipping my poncho and me moving along with my walking sticks, they knew they were following The Wizard. So be it, I am The Wizard. We came across Mountain Man, Stick Walker and his dog Belle. When Stick Walker heard Doyle's name he lit up. That was the name of his favorite uncle who had passed on. Stick Walker decided that Doyle was now Uncle Doyle.   I am now in Fontana Dam, NC, a beautiful resort area, the dam, the lake and the southern entrance to The Great Smoky Mountain National Park. No dogs allowed in the park. So Vinny drove down to take him to his home for the week.After talking to Curtis, the owner and Vinny, I knew this was the right place for Doyle.Curtis had sent me pictures of the kennel. a huge yard with dog houses built around the perimeter. If the dogs didn't get along he section off the problem dog.The dog houses are big enough that you can throw down your sleeping bag and join them when you get there. Vinny told me this is no ordinary kennel. If they are around the fire or having a cookout, the dogs are with them. When Curtis's wife takes their dog for a walk, they all walk. It is a good situation. When Vinny pulled up, he had Matt, Lisa and their dog Loki in the van already. We had crossed paths a lot and stayed in a lot of camps together. Doyle and Loki were already good friends. Matt and Lisa were taking the ride around the Smokies to do it at a later date. When Doyle saw them he just climbed in the van and that was it, 6 days without my pal. I'll be walking fast.   My darling wife sent me some mail drops wiyh all kinds of goodies. Reception is horrible on the trail so I can't get through to her to often. So I listen to the loving messages she has sent me and it lifts my heart.   The past week the weather has been perfect, 60's and 70's. First few days in the Smokies look good too. A nice bunch of people are on the trail with us, You end up with a lot of the same faces in the camps at night. There are registers in most shelters so you can sign in. It helps everyone keep track of people and keep an eye out for each other.   This is my second attempt at this entry. I lost the first one. Have no clue why. As always, if you are enjoying the journey, please remember the kids and donate to the JIMMY FUND.                  Danielle Grossman                  Jimmy Fund Walk                  10 Brookline Pl. West                  6th Floor                  Brookline, MA02445                  617-632-5029                  danielle_grossman@dfci.harvard.edu                  Thank You                        Randy and Doyle
Date: 2010-04-08
From: Maine

To: View Entry
Miles today: 0.0

                                 Welcome                           Randy and Doyle's                           "WALK FOR THE KIDS"   Things change quickly on the trail. Went up over Clingmans Dome with 3 ft of snow on the north side of the mountain. Had some leg problems and it got steadily worse. Thought it was a stress fracture, which would have put me off the trail. Went to the hospital in Gatlinburg to find out it was an infection in my lower leg. The good news is a few days off to let the antibiotics do their work and I will be back on the trail.   Have a time limit on this comp, will have to cut it short.   As always, if you are enjoying the journey, please remember the kids and donate to th JIMMY FUND.            Danielle Grossman            Jimmy Fund Walk            10 Brookline Pl West            6th Floor            Brookline, MA 02445            617-632-5029            danielle_grossman@dfci.harvard.edu                     Thank You                        Randy the Wizard {without Uncle Doyle}
Date: 2010-04-12
From: Springer Mountain, Georgia

To: Mt Katahdin, ME
Miles today: 70.0
Weather: overcast clouds

                           Randy and Doyle's                           "WALK FOR THE KIDS"   Doyle and I are a team again. Got into Standing Bear Farm about 7:00 PM.There were a lot of people around that enjoyed our reunion. We are going to start out later today. Heading for Hot Springs, NC where I will be meeting my honey.She is going to fly down for at least a long weekend. The leg is still an issue. I took 4 days in Gatlinburg but once I started walking it flared up again. Now that I have Doyle I will start doing easier days. I have about 4 more days of antibiotics left, If it still is a problem it will be back to the hospital for me. Physically I am doing fine, Did 18 miles and 15 miles the last 2 days. Once the leg is healed I will be able to do 15 per day comfortably.   After losing 4 days in Gatlinburg I lost all the people I had been with for a while. All new faces on the trail now. The shelters had been pretty crowded through the Smokies. You have to stay in the shelters in the Smokies, But now that we are out we can camp where we want.   Doyle got away once at Standing Bear. Your not going to catch him until he is ready. They realized after a 3 hr chase that it was useless. Once they ignored him he came and sat down next to them.   Going to have some lunch and head out. As always, if you are enjoying the journey, please remember the kids and donate to the JIMMY FUND.                           Danielle Grossman                           Jimmy Fund Walk                           10 Brookline Pl West                           6th Floor                           Brookline, MA 02445                                                      617-632-5029                           danielle_grossman@dfci.harvard.edu                  Thank You                     Randy { The Wizard } and Uncle Doyle
Date: 2010-04-17
From: Mt Katahdin, ME

To: View Entry
Miles today: 35.0

                        Randy and Doyle.s                        "WALK FOR THE KIDS"   A stick is a stick, unless of course it is a 6 ft snake. While you are walking the trail you are looking down 90% of the time to watch your footfalls. After comming across the snake sunning himself on the trail I am now looking down 100% of the time. The sticks look a lot more like snakes these days. I tapped the snake in the tail and he let me know he wasn't to happy about having his sunbathing session interupted. Started hissing like he was going to get even, but he crawled off the trail and up a tree. I got a few pictures of him.   We are in Hot Springs, NC and I am forced to take a few days off. The infection is still there, but it is better. The hospital I went to phoned in another prescription of antibiotics and I picked them up at the local clinic. So a couple of more days off should help clear it up.   I stayed in a campground the first night. They neglected to tell me that 30 ft behind my tent and covered by trees were railroad tracks. About 2 in the morning I heard this roar and I thought the train was coming right through the tent. Just as he got to my tent, he laid on the horn because he was coming to an intersection. Doyle just about ran through the tent wall, I got a hold of him just in time. These trains down here are about 200 cars long.   A couple of gentlemen from South Carolina set up at the campground to do trail magic. They are going to feed hikers breakfast and supper all weekend.That would be Brent and John, a couple of guys who enjoy helping people. There families showed up last night to help out. A lot of special people out here, they are a big part of the motivation to see this through.   As always, if you are enjoying the journey, please remember the kids and donate to the JIMMY FUND.               Danielle Grossman               Jimmy Fund Walk               10 Brookline Pl West               6th Floor               Brookline, MA 02445               617-632-5029               danielle_grossman@dfci.harvard.edu                        Thank You                        The Wizard and Uncle Doyle
Date: 2010-04-27
From: Springer Mountain, Georgia

To: Mt Katahdin
Miles today: 100.0
Weather: overcast clouds

                        The Wizard and Uncle Doyle,s                                                         WALK FOR THE KIDS      Roan Mt Tennesee, one of the highest mountain ranges we have been through. Four mountains ranging from 5700 ft to 6200 ft dropping down to about 3000 ft in the gaps. On the 25th I planned on doing 16 miles which would have left me 16 more to get out of the woods yesterday. After 12 miles we stopped for a break and some snacks. It was a hot day and Doyle had had it. I put my pack on and started out but he was not having any part of it. This is the first time that Doyle didn't follow, so it was time to give him a break and we camped there. Well that night it rained pretty good and I had to pack everthing up in the rain. That is not a problem if the sun comes out and you can dry your gear,but it was rainy and cloudy all day. I decided to do a 20 mile day and get out of the woods. Stopped for lunch and was talking to Blue Sky and she wanted to camp but did not want to camp alone. She decided that she wanted to walk out of the woods too. I stayed with her to get us both out safely.    When you get up above tree lines around here they call these areas balds. You have grass as high as your ankles but no bushes or trees, and no protection. When we hit the balds the winds were blowing about 40 or 50 miles per hour. The balds can go on for miles and with the mountain socked in you have no idea when you will reach the top. The winds started picking up to about 50 to 60 miles per hour. It was just about blowing us over. Without the walking sticks I would have been down a number of times. Blue Sky toughed it out, no whining or complaining, just suck it up and do it. It was the most difficult situation I have been in on the trail. When we finally got down into the trees and below the wind we had time against us. We made it to the last shelter when it got dark and had to walk the last mile with our head lamps on.Luckily it was only 3/10 of a mile to the hostel and they had rooms for us.   Another lesson learned and thankfully no harm done. By the way Doyle was energized by the wind and was running and playing in it all the way. He handled the 20 miles a lot better than us. So today we take a 0 day and rest up to start again tomorrow. We should be in Damascus, VA by the beginning of next week. As always, if you are enjoying the journey, please remember the kids and donate to the JIMMY FUND. You will find all the information to contact Danielle Grossman on th previous post.                                 Thank You                                 Randy { The Wizard } and Uncle Doyle
Date: 2010-05-03
From: Springer Mountain, Georgia

To: Mt Katahdin
Miles today: 93.0
Weather: light rain

                           Randy and Dole,s                        "WALK FOR THE KIDS"   More small victories. Georgia, North Carolina and Tennesee......DONE. We got into Damascus, VA yesterday. Leg is doing fine. Went to a foot doctor today to deal with a corn that has been a pain in every step since we began. IT'S A MIRACLE.......The pain is gone. She cut and ground most of the problem away. There is now no pressure on the problem area. She gave me a little kit to deal with it on the trail. I keep it clean and I am good. Probably a little more than you needed to know. Enough foot talk.   The heat has been turned up and Uncle Doyle has not handled it to well. More water stops and shade stops. We will start our days earlier now and back off in the hottest part of the day. It is only going to get hotter and the days longer. As much as I hate to part with him, I think I will have to call in a rescue mission to take my pal home.   The trail magic is back, big time. Two days ago I walked past a big orange cooler of trail magic. Never saw it, surprise- surprise. I came down to a road and they were cooking up hot dogs with snacks and drinks. Went through this beatiful pasture area and about 5 miles later at the next road I came out of the woods to a birthday party... All the hikers had birthday hats on. Bratwurst, potatoes, watermellon, cake candy even white lightning for the young maddogs. It was Fundips birthday. His dad and a friend set it all up.   Sorry, comp time is up. Till next time. Please remember the kidand give Danielle Grossman a call. 617-632-5029.                                 Thank You                                    The Wizard and Uncle Doyle
Date: 2010-05-14
From: Springer Mt, Georgia

To: Mt Katahdin
Miles today: 160.0
Weather: clear sky

                           Randy and Doyle's                           "WALK FOR THE KIDS"   Virginia, definately a different hike than the lower part of the trail. Elevations are lower and you find yourself going through pastures and closer to civilization more often. There are a lot of rocky trails which the feet do not care for too much. About 10 cqws turned on Doyle and chased him out of a pasture. There were a couple of young calfs that they were protecting.   The trail being as long as it is, there are a lot of things that can put an end very quickly to your hike. I have been fortunate so far to only be delayed. My heart goes out to Noodles, Little Foot and a few others who were forced off the trail. Little Foot blew out her knee just stepping over a log and came down wrong. She is going to be laid up for a while and I do not know if her schedule will allow her to continue. I ran into Noodles at Uncle Johnnies Hostel and his foot was twice the size of normal. He hiked about 60 miles not knowing he had a broken foot. Noodles went home and hooked up with his friend David [ Driver] who drove him back to Damascus, VA. They brought there instruments with them. I walked into a restaurant and on the back deck they were sitting around playing. Noodlea, Ghouda, Abe and Driver. They were very good and it was enjoyable to sit and listen to them while I had lunch. Noodles can't stay away from the trail, he is chomping at the bit to get back out there. If you see someone hobbling down the trail on crutches,it will probably be Noodles.   If anyone is interested in joining me on the trail, I will be at Shenandoah National Park in about 17 days, Beginning of June. If you think you want to do it you can send me an e-mail through this site. As I said in the past, you can do an hour, a day, a week or all the way to Katahdin if you like.Just leave me a phone number when you e-mail me and I will get back to you.The meeting location will be.......Shenandoah National Park                                 U.S. 250...I 54                                 Rockfish Gap                                 Waynesboro, VA 22980                                 Rockfish Visitors Center                                 540-943-5187                                 Inn At Afton                                 540-942-5201                                 $60-$100....pet friendly                                 Vehicles can stay in their lot.   As always, if you are enjoying the journey, please remember the kids and donate to the JIMMY FUND.      Danielle Grossman                                 Jimmy Fund Walk                                 10 Brookline Pl. West                                 6th Fl                                 Brookline, MA 02445                                 617-632-5029                                 danielle_grossman@dfci.harvard.edu                           Thank You                           The Wizard and Uncle Doyle
Date: 2010-06-03
From: Springer Mountain, Georgia

To: Mt. Katahdin
Miles today: 82.0
Weather: moderate rain

                     Randy and Doyle's                  "WALK FOR THE KIDS"   Back on the trail and we have had a good week. We are now in striking distance of Shenandoah National Park. We will be at the Rockfish Gap Visitors Center on Wed. morning at 9:00 AM June 9th. COME ON DOWN........join Doyle and myself on the trail. All the info is on a previous post. Leave an e-mail on this site. The next chance I have to get to a computer is June 8th. Make sure your cell # is in the e-mail and I will call you on Tues the 8th.    Getting pretty warm down here. Thunder showers most afternoons. Have been running close to the Blue Ridge Parkway and the views have been awsome. It is definitly a road you will want to do when you have the opportunity. We start early and make the most of the cool mornings. Try to take good long breks during the heat. Just stopped in town to re-supply and shoot off this post. Hope to see you on Wed and if you are enjoying the journey, please remember the kids and donate to the JIMMY FUND. You will find all Danielle's info on the previous post.                        Thank You                           The Wizard and Uncle Doyle