morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2009-08-01
To: View Entry
Miles today: 0.0

III. Report - I've survived the 100 mile wilderness, barely, and am safely off the trail. It had been raining quite a bit and I had taken a number of falls; one injuring my ribs so as to to significantly effect my hiking. Not wanting to make a bad situation even worse, I decided to get off trail and head home for recovery and/or treatment. I'll be updating the journal with reports of the Maine portion of the hike and uploading some photos as wellIV. QOD: Is there a hiking right of way? Yes, like vehicles on the road or ships at sea, there is a protocol for yielding the right of way in crowded lanes. For hikers, the downhill hiker should ¢yield¢ to the uphill hiker. I really don¢t appreciate this as the uphill hiker is usually gassed out and then must hike pass the uphill hiker..   I would much prefer the opportunity to rest a bit, then to continue hiking uphill while the downhiller rests. But, it¢s probably a visual safety factor since the downhill hiker usually has a better field of view of the surrounding area.V. POD: Dad¢s three nieces in WA were always referred to as ¢the girls¢. They were almost always together and attended many family get-togethers in Texas. The first Saturday in August has been a traditional gathering of family and friends at Pat and her husband Cliff¢s home on Whidbey Island, WA. These gatherings are quite spectacular with the pie eating contest and children¢s coin hunt in the hay stack being most memorable. Then there is the all day eating and the featured do-it-yourself omelets cooked in baggies in the crab pot on Sunday morning.POD: Cliff Reindel. Cliff passed away unexpectedly earlier this year. I enjoyed visiting with Pat and Cliff at their island home. I caught my first salmon with Cliff off his ¢front yard¢ and we later fished at Port Washington and Vancouver Island, Canada. I would check the tide charts for planning my Seattle visits, so that I could go clamming during the peak clamming periods. And Cliff had the Dungeness crabbing down to an art. He would start heating up the crab water pot, then we¢d go launch the boat and run the crab traps. The crab pot water would be ready when we returned, then we¢d start cooking the crabs. The crabs would be done by the time we cleaned up the boat. Let me tell you, there is nothing finer than fresh crabs. Thanks for the good times Cliff.
Date: 2009-08-09
From: Cooper Brooks Lean-to

To: Logan Brook Lean-to
Miles today: 11.7
Weather: broken clouds

III. Report: Spokes and his partner were up at 0400 and hiking before 0500. I got up and left shortly after them, and to my surprise, FB and TNT also got up and were hiking early. I was able to stay reasonably close in hiking with FB and TNT by getting up early and starting hiking 1-2 hours before they started. This day, FB passed me very early and I was doubting whether I would see her again. TNT shortly joined me and we hiked to the Logan Brook Lean-to. WE had another stream fording and I took several pictures of TNT fording, catching him in a slip in the middle of the fording. We would meet a crew of trail maintainers. They had been on the trail for 12 weeks and were installing ¢rock steps¢ in various parts of the trail. The day¢s hike covered 11.7 miles and about a 1600 ft net climb. We fixed dinner and it started to rain quite heavily, probably 2 or 3 inches over the evening. TNT had a good case of blisters and a cut or two. He had expended almost all of his first aid kit and I gave him some of my supplies, notably some of my back-up iodine tablets. TNT also mentioned picking up some mileage and catching up with Fluffy and some of the other SOBOers.V. POD: After retiring from the Air Force, I thought I would become a DC ¢beltway bandit¢ while T2 completed high school, then become a subcontract administrator at a major aerospace defense contractor out West. Those plans were modified when I accepted an SES position at NASA HQ. I worked on mixed fleet manifests (shuttle and expendable launch vehicle schedules, and was one of the first NASA members on the Shuttle-Mir program, which led to the Russian-NASA cooperation and involvement in the International Space Station (ISS) program.POD: El Jefe (Numero Dos). EJ was a NASA manager, and also an Air Force reservist at Andrews AFB.   He is the one who pointed me towards a job at NASA and would later become my 1st supervisor. I enjoyed my work there; preparing the mixed fleet manifest which listed planned launch dates for all Shuttle and NASA Expendable Launch Vehicle payloads. At the time, this was the de facto NASA Strategic Plan, as it was the only document where you could see what NASA had approved and intended to launch over the next 7-10 years. This in itself was something ironic, in that the plans rarely succeeded for a period of the next 6 months or so. I will remember the greatest challenge in working with El Jefe was trying to get a piece of paper thru his coordination or signature.
Date: 2009-09-27
From: Home

To: home
Miles today: 0.0

Plan D finalized:I probably came to this conclusion several weeks ago; but, it has taken me this long to finally come to the realization that my AT hiking for this year is probably over. I suffered a major setback in the recovery process for my broken ribs and am basically back at another month or so in the recovery process. Further complicating this is that I haven¢t been able to exercise as much as I would like. And, there are some other actions on the homefront that I need to attend to. I will follow some of my fellow hikers and if I find myself in an area near them, may try to come out for a short visit and bring some trail magic.I have all my images now from Ms P&B and just installed a new software program to read my RAW photo files. So, I plan to be downloading some of the better images in the next week or so.I really enjoyed hiking this year and meeting all the fellow hikers on the trail, as well as the virtual hikers on the net. And as all my good Aggie friends would say, ¢Wait until next year!¢
Date: 2009-12-23
From: Atlanta, GA

To: Springer Mountain
Miles today: 0.0

Although I wasn't able to complete my thru-hike this year, I was fortunate today to be with several others who have. Libra Lady and I are in Atlanta to spend the Christmas holiday with children and grandchildren. It also happened that TNT, Miss Step (nee Fluffy Bunny), Half Full and Chomp were at Springer Mountain, GA, this morning. Miss Step reported that SOBO Nation of 14 strong had summitted last evening and it was obvious to me that there was some serious celebrations that had been had.... I've posted a few photos from the Springer summit this morning.I'm resting up now, starting to get back in shape and making plans for completing the AT in 2010.Wishing everyone a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!!!
Date: 2010-03-20
From: Home

To: Home
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: broken clouds

Plan A is holding for the 20110 AT hike. I have a flight reservation arriving at BWI on April 6th. I plan to spend a few days in the DC area and then hit the trail NOBO at Harper¢s Ferry, WV, on/about April 11th. If all goes well, I should complete the NOBO section at Katahdin ME, mid-summer, then flip down to Damacus, VA, concluding SOBO at Springer Mtn, GA in late summer. More detailed information can be found in previous journal entry.My ¢training¢ included a recent road trip with Lumpy and the wonder dog, Titus, a.k.a. the Hound from Hades. We met Lumpy at San Antonio, TX airport and drove to Big Bend at dawn. Sunlight wasn¢t the best and it was a little early for the cactus flowers; however, we did get some decent photos and saw some bluebonnets and lots of yuccas in bloom. We spent 3 days at the national park and one at the state ranch, even saw the Marfa Prada shoe exhibit. Titus had some difficulty traversing one of the slot canyons at the ranch and displayed some of his hound traits. A leisure trip to Utah followed with a short stay in the four corners area. Our plans were cut short due to on-coming rain and snow. We spent a few days in Utah, skied a day at Alta lodge and then I returned home with Titus. En route, I took some photos at the National parks along the way, even visited an archeological dig for some sunset photos.My next journal entry should in early April, as I complete final preparations and visit in the DC area.Happy Trails,
Date: 2010-04-09
From: En-route

To: Harpers Ferry, WV
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: overcast clouds

I¢m getting close to being on the trail this year. I find the anticipation to be a little more balanced this year: excitement to be on the trail; but dreading the now-known hardships. The reactions from those who have commented about my hike have also been somewhat split. Half say ¢You da man!¢; the other half say ¢You da CRAZY man!¢ Physically, I think I¢m ready. Been doing boot camp pretty regularly this year; although the last week was particularly tough. Monday, D¢trix worked our arms and I thought mine were going to explode. Tuesday was a leg day and I was really struggling with the exercises. D¢trix finally red flagged me to work out another day and said she would grant special dispensation to all others over 60. Thursday was a relative breeze: she only wanted us to do 500 kettle bell swings. I don¢t know if anyone made 500; but I think I was just over 300. I was still very sore and was beginning to question my conditioning. But everyone else who had been in class this week was sore as well. One said she was unable to fasten her seat belt/shoulder strap and another complained that she couldn¢t throw a softball overhand. I was now beginning to feel a whole lot better after hearing this from others.I¢ve always maintained that thru-hiking is as much a mental task as physical, and very much enjoy the spiritual renewal as well. Which, I must now recognize and praise our awesome Easter Service. We had a choir director solo, children¢s choir, handbell choir, baptism and communion, in addition to the regular church services for the Resurrection. Now, if I could only get up earlier I may make sunrise service some day. Thank you Pastor Sherry and Sweeny FUMC congregation !I¢m in DC now and my perfect plans have unravelled like a cheap sweater. First, at my departure screening, I got placed in TSA timeout ¢ I had placed my Iphone and watch in my boots going thru the detectors. Huge NO-NO. The flight (SWA) to from HOU to BWI was great; but picking up rental car (Budget) was a pain. Ive been staying at TigerPaws; saw Truckie, Madame Bulldog and Mom; talked to Miss P&B and Sky Pilot, and saw a few friends at NASA HQ (left my 2009 video Dvd with Yoe Moe).I submitted my civil service retirement in Dec 2008, and finally got it straightened out in late Nov 2009. Then try to consolidate all my retirement assets and found that to be a challenge. I intended to cancel most of my life insurance policies; but discovered that Libra Lady had paid in full all the premiums for this year (is this a sign of support?)I¢ll be visiting with Lumpy next, then DQ and still planning to hit the AT NOBO at Harper¢s Ferry on Sunday.Getting closer,
Date: 2010-04-11
From: Harpers Ferry, WV

To: Ed Garvey Shelter
Miles today: 7.0
Weather: clear sky

Day 1. Hiked 7 miles from Harpers ferry WV to Ed Garvey Shelter. Started out midmorning on shared trail with C & O Canal. Recognized some trail I had hiked over 25 years ago with Troop 1781 from La plata MD. This was a good hike for the first day - not too long but still something of a challenge.  Took some flower photos.  Got to the shelter early. Found the spring was 0.4 miles, all down steep hill. Filled up the water bags , satarted cooking fire, set up down pad and sleeping bag and then had leisure supper.  Relaxed with a mocha, dental care and then hung bear line. Doing my update now and next to sleepy byePOD. Brat 2, lance corporal , USMC. Happy Birthday!!  I appreciate your service and your fellows in combat armsLife is Good,  no make that Great!
Date: 2010-04-12
From: Ed Garvey Shelter

To: Dahlgren Back Pack Campground
Miles today: 10.9
Weather: clear sky

1.CPR. Forgot to mention all the turtles and a Canadian goose in the C & O towpath2 Report. I thought for sure I'd sleep well last nite; but, that wasn't the case. We turned in about 2100 and I finally got up and walked outside the shelterabout 2230  There were plenty of city lights down in the valley. I walked a little up the ridge and could see a few stars. Enough to find the Big Dipper, then Polaris, Orion' s belt and maybe Sirrius. Staring at the pole star remineded me much of Meteu 's Prayer and the legend of the Delaware Indians for those that would understandThe hike was very good today. Early short climb, breakfast break at Gathland Md State Park and civilWar battle site. Then relative flat hike to Dahlgren Back Pack Campsite. A plan to eat at nearby fancy restaurant had to be cancelled - closed Monday's. Got to the campground around 1500, took a HOT shower, washed clothes, then fixed supper.Body check has a blister forming on right heel and left shoulder feels knotted. Other than being winded quite frequently, all appears well. I remember it was this time last year when I broke the "Moore" toe and named it "Big Ugly"3. QOD. Are youing hiking alone?  No. In fact, Lumpy is hiking the initial stretch with me. He originally planned to hike from 3 hours to 30 days. Current planning looks like 44 miles , a distance that Ms P & B had once considered; but then had to reschedule. And AstroGuy might show up sometime in PA. Sign into my log if you're interested in joining up for a walk in the woodsI may travel a good part of the AT without a hiking partner; but, I'm never aloneLife is Great
Date: 2010-04-13
From: Dahlgren Back Pack Campground

To: Pogo Campground
Miles today: 9.0

2. Report. I camped " cowboy" last night and fared well.  Lumpy feared I would get rained on or bugs would bother me. Woke up around 2145 and just saw enough stars to id the Big Dipper. Then saw a small sattelite pass S to NI figured 1st day would be an adrenaline high, the 2nd day would be sore a d the third day really tough. Today exceeded my expectations. I felt sick fromthe start and tried to throw up without success. We had a good morning climb. The skies were overcast and a light rain started arouNd 0830. It stayed like that most of the day. About mid morning I felt a sharp pain in my heel, like it had been cut with a razor blade. I had a pretty good idea about it - my blister grew, got larger than the moleskin pad and the burst. I poured some liquid bandage on it, covered it with duct tape and hiked ( really limped) on.  All the maps indicated an early climb and the a relative at level hike. Ha, my altimeter looked like a comb on the Stairmaster.  We hiked up to Pogo campsite. We were looking ahead to meet St Kit in Rouzarville on any day except Thursday. Since it was unlikely to make it on Wed, we decided to call it a day at Pogo and get set up and try to stay warm and dry. Succeeding so farLumpy is a hiking automaton this year, really putting me to shame. He's talking about wanting to complete the AT in VA and maybe doing the 100 mile wilderness with me this summerWest Southside this am.  He's also trying to do the AT from HF to Katahdin nhe blew by this am and with my problems today itay be se time before I see him again. Saw BT for the 3rd time and also 2 ladies at the I-70 AT hikers bridge that reminer us of usI've had better days but life is still good!
Date: 2010-04-14
From: Pogo Campground

To: Devils Racecourse Shelter
Miles today: 9.8

1. CPR Saw a small group of deer and several fresh bear scats. Not much else in the form of wildlife2 Report. We went to bed early, still raining lightly, mostly wet and heavy overcast. I was able to get a good fire going and was able to cook and warm up a bit. The tent was fairly dry and sleeping bag quite warm. I didn¢t enjoy the frequent hydration checks; but, was pleased to see the skies clearing. Morning was clear and quite cool, just under 40 deg. Everything was wet and stiffed into the packs, a quick breakfast and then on to the day¢s hike. The trail today seemed to follow the maps and guidebooks very well. Met Baar Hunter and BT on the trail. We started with a good climb and then had a relative flat run along the ridge. We did begin to hike over some rough rocks and that lasted for a time. We stopped at Ensign Cowall¢s Shelter for an extended lunch, put out the tents to dry and rest up a bit. We continued hiking the rest of the afternoon, ending with a steep descent and and even steeper rise past a highway thru the holler. The real joy came after the final ascent; we then had to go off the trail, downhill to the Devil¢s Racecourse Shelter. This was 1 .3 mile detour and a 250 ft drop. It was a pain going there, but we finally arrived at the shelter. Built a fire, put sleeping gear out and fixed supper. We treated 4 liters of water and my SteriPen began acting up.         We then made some tentative near-term plans. One, was getting St Kit to pick up Lumpy on any day but Thursday. Looking at our maps and guessing hiking rates, we decided to go conservative and spend Thurs nite in Wayneboro, PA at a B&B that catered to hikers. R&R Thursday nite, then have a changeover Fri am.        The body check leaves a lot to be desired. I changed insert from my summer boots to my winter boots and this has caused big blister problems on both heels. Also my stomach doesn¢t seem to like this hiking bit. It has really caused a great deal of gas and sourness. And, there is a slight sore throat, some sweating and probably other ills.        There was no cell phone coverage in the shelter at the bottom of the holler; so this report has been delayed a day in posting.Life is Great!
Date: 2010-04-15
From: Devils Racecourse Shelter

To: Pen-Mar Park
Miles today: 5.3

2. Report.   Today was going to be planned as a ¢Nero¢ day, e.g., a short 5 mile hike to a local park with an overnight stay at a B&B in town. The start was a dreaded .3 mile, 300 ft climb from the shelter, just to get back on the AT. However, this didn¢t turn out to be nearly as much as a problem as the previous night¢s descent. Next, was a flat run near MD highest peak and we totally missed any sign if one was posted. Later, a check with the Iphone AT Trail application placed exactly, at a spot just south of High Rock. We got an early introduction to PA by hiking over a considerable boulder field, that really slowed the hiking pace. My stomach was only slightly better and my heel significantly worse; but we eventually made the Pen-Mar park and we both thought this was much more than 5 mile hike.We got to town and settled into the Burgundy Lane B&B. Great place to stay, very friendly to hikers and I would highly recommend a stay there. We then went down the street to the Waynesburger Caf© and I had the best cheeseburger since my AF days at Thelma¢s in Bellevue NE. Had our laundry done and then we had dinner at Gus and Ted¢s, another fine place. Its shortly to bed and then preparing for meeting St Kit tomorrow.NOTE: I¢m still learning how to use some of the Iphone applications. In one, I¢m able to send Google map locations to people on an e-mail address. Another application send a ¢Waypoints¢ again to e-mail addresses, as well as posting on my Facebook account. These waypoint messages may appear to be spam; but if you click on them you should see my location. This depends on two conditions: cell phone coverage and battery charge. I plan to try to send an ¢End of the Day¢ waypoint on Facebook, then a trailjournal entry.
Date: 2010-04-16
From: Pen-Mar Park

To: Tumbling Run
Miles today: 5.7
Weather: clear sky

2 don't know what I reported or where I left off last, so pardon if this seems disjointed or redundant. After dinner at Ted and Gus ( my kind of place, wonderful food and highlly recommend by St Kit) back to b&b. Body check was pretty bad that I have two new named parts: Little Hurt and Big Hurt.y heels are pretty raw. I had some customade orthodoticsade for my smersh boots a d had worn these some my winter boots. But, not for all day nor carrying a backpack  Treated them and then tried to go to sleep over Lumpy's snoringWe got up and had great breakfast by Ms Margaret and I then went to reconfigure my backpack. I'm certain it weighed initiallly the N side of 50 lbs. I took out some unneeded stuffand most of the heavy winter gear. Now it's over 10 lbs  lighter and probably 10 liters smalle, which is where it should have been at start   St Kit arrived and we left b&b, had lunch and picked up some medical resupplies. Lumpy and St Kit dropped me off at AT crossing Pa 16, although Kit tried her best to get me to come into town and recuperate. Also at this time, a large group of U Md outward bounders were preparing to NOBO as wellMy goal was to try to hike 2 miles to the first shelter and complete a foot check: return if negative or hike on if positive to next shelter 2 mi further N. The trail was very easy and my feet felt great, i e , far from 100% but OOM better than before. I made the first shelter in little over an hour and had quick snack there.  Decided to hike on to 2nd shelter. Was feeling much better and reay getting a good stride nd rythum. Then the wind really picked up ( small craft advisory level) and it started to rain ( I think I've seen this movie a time or two already. I got into rain gear and hiked on to 2nd shelter where Iet my new two best friends: Dennis and Tim. They offered to share lunch and I politely declined. Then I saw what was being offered and changed mind. Gourmet trail magic: salmon, hummus, peas, asparagus a d accented with almond slivers and parmesan cheese. I had to ask where the Chardonnay was hiding. Bon apetif!! It was still early, the rain had stopped, sun was shining and I was feeling great and wanted to put some more miles between me and the outward bounders, so I decided to hike on to the 3rd shelter another mere 1.2 miles. I passed a parking lot and noticed 2 vehicles fromthe bounders. Cruised into the shelter and found two cabins. "Flip" was zeroIng in one and I took the other, aptly labeled "Snoring". I started getting set up for the nite and it started raining. Looks like maybe heavy storms tonite5 POD. I got to recognize Lumpy as my POD. I reallyAppreciate him joining me at the start this year and allhis support (and St Kit). I've given him some ages he may post later, but let me warn you now that Big and Little Hurt are rated at least PG-13 and maybe R. Btw, Tenn Tom thinks he should be called "Svelty" (what a sense of humor!). I greatly appreciate our friendship