morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2003-01-28
To: View Entry
Miles today: 0.0

Friday, Jan. 17th was my last day of employment for possibly close to a year. WOW! My co-workers treated me to a great luncheon and presented me with a gift card to Eastern Mountain Sports Stores. Now there's some shopping I can get into! My "work" has taken on a different feel- still up at 5:30 a.m. with Alan who still has to work, and typically beginnig the day with some type of exercise. I've cut back on my running dramatically to focus on getting used to my backpack. Back in December, I started on the treadmill with an empty pack and now I'm at my maximum weight of 41 lbs. I'm trying to walk about an hour and gain 1100-1200 feet of elevation. Certainly not a substitute for weekend outdoor hikes but it gets me used to the feel of the weight and the strain of the climbing. Alan & Laura have been doing the same. Going outdoors is much better but you use what you have. We decided since there are three of us, that pre-planned meals sent to us via maildrops at 19 points was the way to go. While it forces us to carry the weight of food- it allows us to maintain a decent diet with mega calories. While we'll be stopping in towns for breaks about every 7-10 days (and then picking up our mail drop boxes) we can focus on rest, laundry, email catch-up and eating out at those times as much as we can stuff into our bodies. Planning the meals and supplies to be contained within each box has been interesting. Laura and I decided math word problems were created to assist with AT food planning! Trying to figure out how many institutional-size cans of beans and veggies were needed for 163 meals was no easy feat. Once we dehydrated it- then we added the seasonings and vacuum sealed each meal. To some we'll added the foil pouches of tuna or chicken; others are kidney beans, veggie & rice to which we'll add boiling water for a hot dinner. Breakfast was a BIG grocery trip. 660 packets of oatmeal,60 lbs of granola, 20 lbs of coffee...... We have to do this trip- no way could we deal with this food at home! Our house is in the process of being sold (we have a buyer!!) one car is sold and the mail drops are in progress. We meet with Laura's teachers this week to discuss her school work on the trail. We've ordered maps for our families and will be reviewing our maildrop plan and places to meet with family along the way over the next month. So- it's been a different kind of work this last week but certainly it's been meaningful. We're so anxious for our journey to begin. We'll be renting a car and heading to GA March 29th, staying at Amicalola Lodge on the 30th and hitting the approach trail 3/31/03. THEAT
Date: 2003-03-13
To: View Entry
Miles today: 0.0

Just over two weeks to go until our March 31 date with Springer Mountain. As you can see, we have our 20-mail drop boxes ready to go. We are so lucky to have such supportive family, as Montana's brother has agreed to mail our re-supply boxes...thanks Steve!! We have heard from a number of hikers who do not agree with the mail drop strategy, but for a family of three, we believe this makes the most sense. Grocery shopping with three is a nightmare under normal times, imagine a family grocery trip somewhere in trail-town Tennessee with three hungry hikers..."not mac & cheese lets get..." So, mail drops not only maximize our independence along the trail, they also minimize difficult shopping trips. My last work day will be tomorrow and many of my friends and colleagues have been checking out our trail journal site....and I have received many nice notes. Now I am really feeling pressure to make it 2181-miles to ME!! For additional training, I have been hiking to work most days...getting lots of weird looks from commuters in our suburban-Philly community. It is a tough place to be a pedestrian, which is part of the cultural disconnect we feel with this part of the country that makes our hike and move to Montana so desireable. Too many people, too much traffic and a culture that sees those of us who walk places as "others". Of course you have to be an "other" in terms of brave (or foolish) to walk when there are few sidewalks, traffic moves so quickly, so much sprawl etc. So not only is the training helping get me into trail shape, but it also helps reaffirm our desire to walk...from GA to ME then off to Montana. Only 18 days to go...we are very ready!!! Signed...Montana.
Date: 2003-03-29
To: Hillsborough, NC
Miles today: 0.0

Cannot believe we're here. Drove about 6 hrs. through lots of traffic and rain to arrive and see spring in full bloom. Checked in at the hotel and the clerk asks for home address. All I can think of is "we don't have a home... anymore". Next question is for our home phone and I recall I disconnected it this a.m. Yesirreee it's beginning to sink in. Let the journey begin. THEATFROM MAKOSHIKA'S JOURNAL- Last night we said our good-byes to Alan's family and I said good-bye to the rest of my friends at school. Both were sad but I guess I just think of them more as "see-you laters". Then this morning when we said good-bye to Josh & Eve I think we all got really choked up. My mom started crying first, then Josh, Eve, Alan & I followed her lead. I think Mom was the most torn up, but Josh wasn't far behind her. Josh told me to be safe which means a lot to me coming from him. After all of the hugs were given, they were gone. I don't think the entire picture has really sunk in for me yet. It just doesn't seem real that after almost two years of planning and waiting we're really on our way to GA to begin the journey of a lifetime. All of these emotions are running through my head right now. One minute I'm jumping up & down and I'm ecstatic that our journey begins in less than two days. But the other side of me thinks in the next minute that I'm sad and anxious. It's just really weird. I'm excited, nervous, anxious, worried, happy, sad, amazed and nostalgic all at the same time. It's an odd feeling. Maybe once I get on the trail all of these feelings will sort themselves out. Maybe not.Quote of the day... "Look Laura- goats!" "No. Mom... those are cows".
Date: 2003-03-30
To: Amicalola & the Cab Ride From Hell
Miles today: 0.0

Well we're here in good ol' Amicalola State Park- home of the start of the AT. The Lodge is gorgeous- much nicer than we expected and has lots of glass and great views of the mountains. But the coolest part is when we were eating dinner in the restaurant and it started to snow. Now it wasn't a hard snow, just flurries, but the shear beauty of those snowflakes against the clouds and the setting sun took my breath away. That was a bit different than the glimpses one might have seen of our journey earlier as it was pouring rain most of the morning. We left the car at a Marriot in GA and called a cab to take us to the park. Well that was a cab ride from hell. First of all, our driver didn't have the greatest grasp of the English language, so it was very hard to understand him. Then he had not a clue as to how to get to the park; despite the Map Quest we provided to him. So he was on his cell phone to the park almost the entire trip. We got lost, almost got into two accidents and he wasn't too impressed that we were off to walk for 6 mos. Well now that we're here it's starting to feel real. I can look out our window and see mountains all around us and then I think I'm going to walk on those very mountains. It's a very cool feelimg. I'm so excited!Quote of the day "I wonder why you can't use calling cards for 800 numbers"- Makoshika
Date: 2003-03-31
To: The Final Prep Morning 
Miles today: 0.0

WOW. awoke around 3 a.m. and scanned a beautiful sky full of stars. Up at 5:30 a.m. to enjoy the morning.Everyone seems in a good mood; positive, nervous, excited. Feels really odd to toss all my clothes and running shoes into the trash. Good-bye deodrant! Off to breakfast and then off to the trail. Carpe Diem. THEATMAKOSHIKA'S JOURNAL ENTRY- Well we're all but 2 hours away from starting our hike and my parents are running in place in our hotel room. What freaks but I still love them! I guess right now I'm feeling 3 things: nervous, anxious and excited. I can deal with these 3 feelings. Oh, and I'm really hungry- I suspect I'll eat a big breakfast. Yesterday we decided to hike (via 600 steps) to the bottom of Amicalola Falls. Going down wasn't a problem at all, but coming up was hell. After making it up all those steps, I felt out of shape and discouraged. However, Alan said something really reassuring to me- that he more we hike, the more in shape we'll all become, that in two weeks I could probably make it up those steps without getting really winded. And later when we were walking on the Visitors Center Trail, it was so cool to listen to Alan describe what he saw and what he was feeling- in one word he decribed it as free. I want to feel that way one day, maybe I will.
Date: 2003-03-31
From: Approach Trail

To: Stover Creek Shelter
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: broken clouds

What a day- very chilly start in the 30's. Bright sun, breezy and small icicles dropping off the trees. Lots of ups and downs- strenuous but we made better time than anticipated. Enjoyed meeting other thru-hikers and were able to set up camp before 4 p.m. Hot chocolate before our first trail dinner to warm us up. Lots of black bear activity so we have to hang our food bags from pulley systems provided near the shelter.Makoshika is awesome- doing a great job. She and Montana practiced Spanish while hiking.Montana was first in the tent- were told it would go below freezing tonight. Lots of layers and looking forward to warming up. Feeling pretty accomplished... THEATMAKOSHIKA'S ENTRY- Wow we've hiked our first day as thru-hikers on the AT. We ate breakfast at the lodge (cold French Toast & day-old sausage) and hit the trail at 8:15 a.m. The weather was chilly but beautiful. Our first good news came when we learned that the approach trail from the lodge was only 7.5 miles not the 8.5 we thought. A sign told us the avg. hike time would be 6 hrs and that the terrain was strenuous. Well we summited Springer Mountain in 4 hrs. and we really didn't find it all that hard. After talking to some people at the trailhead (and meeting Carla, Cathy and Lost in Woods) we kept walking to the Stover Creek Shelter. We decided to stop and it was damned cold. Besides the cold though, we have a beautiful campsite near the creek, but no privy! I was so bummed when I heard there was no privy- oh well, I'll guess I'll hold it till tomorrow.Well this is quite sad- it's 7:26 p.m. and we're already in the tent preparing to go to sleep. I come from quite an odd family! Oh and I got to sign the first two registers as thru-hikers. It's really happening. It's real now!
Date: 2003-04-01
From: Stover Creek Shelter

To: Justus Creek
Miles today: 11.3
Weather: clear sky

Very challenging 24 hrs. Last night's sleep was VERY cold. Each of us wore thermals, hats and gloves and cinched our sleeping bags around our heads with our noses poking out. Breakfast was swift. We needed to boil water and recover our suspended food bags. Tough to do when we could barely feel our fingers. Once we broke camp and began hiking we became warm then hot. By lunch we were feeling the tingle of sunburn on our faces. How odd to be so cold and then hot within 6 hrs. Some challenging ups and downs (I love my hiking sticks) and our emotions seemed to be the same.Today we experienced our first "Trail Magic". A bag of Pop-Tarts were left hanging on a sign in a deep gap that preceded a hefty climb up the mountain. They gave us quite a lift!Dinner was delicious- we were hungry. In the tent by 7:15. Makoshika is reading The Odyssey and Montana is preparing some dialogue point on it for tomorrow.We saw some beautiful sights today. We were challenged but I think overall we're feeling pretty good with our progress. We're stiff (my knees are screaming), sore, tired but enjoying the things the trail brings.... nice people, great views and lots of learning about ourselves... THEAT
Date: 2003-04-02
From: Justus Creek

To: Woods Hole Shelter
Miles today: 13.0
Weather: clear sky

MAKOSHIKA'S ENTRY--God I'm dirty. It's weird though because there's this clean spot on both of my legs where my boots and socks are during the day and then above that they're really dirty. Anywho, we left the Justus Creek site about 8:30. The starry sky was like an outdoor planetarium last night. The terrain was hilly & mountainous compared the to the relatively "rolly-polly" day Coach Montana had planned. However, I kept myself motivated during the up-hill climbs by convincing myself they were flat and by thinking about Dairy Queen Oreo Blizzards!We got to Woods Hole about 5 p.m., but arrived at the start of the blue-blazed trail toward the shelter 15 minutes earlier. Who puts a shelter 15 minutes away from the trail?!?! And the water source (a pathetic little trickly thing) is 5 minutes down from the shelter. Oh... but the advantages (and no- the gnats aren't one of them)to this place is that it sits on top of some mountain and has a great 3 walled privy with a view. I took a gorgeous photo of the sunset while I was "doing my business"- how great is that? You get to see the sun go down as you're doing your thing!Well Blood Mountain and (wahoo) Walesi-Yi Center tomorrow. Oh and the stars here are clearer than I've ever seen them. FROM THEAT- The 3 of us talked about what we're learning. We feel we are so much more in tune with the sun and the heat it brings. At home we would turn up the thermostat in the early morning and avoid the direct sun of mid-day. Here, we must walk for water, collect it, purify it and be cautious of waste. We will truly appreciate showers as we are using our bodies harder than ever for 8 hrs/day. We are watching flowers and trees bloom and hearing the songs of some beautiful birds. We walk up mountains then come to an overlook and see where we have been. We're learnig to deal with pain and work through it toward a common goal.
Date: 2003-04-03
From: Woods Hole Shelter

To: Cow Rock Mountain
Miles today: 8.8

Woke everyone up by 5:45. I was nervous as I was anticipating the climb up Blood Mountain. It was not nearly as bad as I anticipated. Incredible views at the top and enjoyed the company of Jason, Alan and other hikers at the shelter at the top. The trek down the mountain was rocky and steep. I tried out my wings and flew down one large slab of rock and rolled. OUCH. THEAT earns the first fall of the trip. Montana uprighted me and Makoshika kept her distance until she confirmed the only thing I really hurt was my pride.Resupplied at the Walisi-Yi Center in Neels Gap. We showered, bought lots of junk food and drinks (ice cream, donuts) and shared lunch with lots of nice folks.Long climbs after lunch on too full of stomachs.Makoshika and Montana are doing Spanish homework; tent is up, dinner readying and enjoying incredible views of a beautiful sunset.Montana continues to deal with deep blisters on both of his heels. we're keeping them clean, cushioned and bandaged.... THEAT
Date: 2003-04-04
From: Cow Rock Mountain

To: Blue Mountain Shelter
Miles today: 13.1
Weather: overcast clouds

Very windy, kind of humid morning. Overcast and a tough one to get started. Montana decided he must give his blisters space and created a funky type of sandals with duct tape that carried him all of today's miles. Makoshika learned about chafing and the wonders of Gold Bond Medicated Powder and learned that some males hikers wear kilts for that vert reason. Physically, I'm doing well but had a bit of a mental fit over a downhill boulder field that made my knees scream. We decided we needed to do a rainstorm drill and Makoshika and I hiked in sports bras and rain pants. Man does rain gear make you sweat! It did begin to rain but thankfully the shelter appeared sooner than anticipated. Glad we have a tent. Hikers claim their spots in shelters early and at times don't feel the compulsion you would like to think might be there when 3 wet hikers enter the shelter.Tomorrow should be simpler with 7.7 miles planned so we can relax a little bit as we are ahead of schedule... THEAT
Date: 2003-04-05
From: Blue Mountain Shelter

To: Tray Mountain Shelter
Miles today: 7.7
Weather: moderate rain

Woke up to a really awful thunderstorm this morning. The rain came down in sheets and the lightning illuminated the tent with flourescent bolts. Our tent stayed stayed pretty dry as we waited out the storm, but towards its end, the floor was getting a bit leaky. We ended up getting a later start than usual (10:15 am), but there weren't many miles as usual planned for the day. Got to chat with Kodiak and Sassy over lunch -- what genuinely nice people! And then with blue skies over our heads and dry ground beneath our feet, we arrived at Tray Gap to see that the boy scout troop #605 from NE Georgia had a huge spread of food set out for us. We all pigged out on burgers, chicken, fruit, salads and desserts and enjoyed the pleasant company which we were in. There were about 5 or 6 scouts there, one was really cute who was about my age. After that wonderful experience, we made the final ascent of the day to Tray Mountain and the shelter, where we snagged a great (grassy) campsite that's not too far from the water (spring) and the privy. Met 3 more hikers here too: Keith (section hiker from GA); Radar (GA-->ME '02); and Jonathan (GA-->ME '03) and I've reached the conclusion that guy hikers are easier to talk to and overall nicer on the trail than the girl hikers.   Makoshika
Date: 2003-04-06
To: View Entry
Miles today: 75.6

4/6/03Hi Everyone: Alan called from the trail today. They are one day ahead of schedule, having started out on their trail walk on Monday, March 31st, six days ago. This was their first stop at a hostel where they each got their first shower of the trip, and made a brief phone call here (to me, Alan's brother, Steve) just to say hello. They are having a good time, the weather has been mostly good - a bit cold, one rainy day, but all manageable and a beautiful part of their journey. Alan has developed some nasty blisters so abandoned his boots for a few days in favor of "make-shift sandals," which he describes as flip-fflops secured to his feet with duct tape! Thankfully Rachel has been ministering to his wounds and, her being a nurse has already paid off...so he expects to be back to the boots tomorrow. So all is well, they sound happy, healthy and loving their first week on the trail. They expect to be at their first mail drop for renewed provisions on Thursday, April 10th - that would be Franklin, NC. And are planning on accessing their email to forward a personal journal entry, some personal email messages, and mail back their first set of film to me for photo posting to the journal. So stayed tuned and keep them in your thoughts! Steve Peura, Journal Master.
Date: 2003-04-06
From: Tray Mountain Shelter

To: Blueberry Patch Hostel (Dick's Creek Gap)
Miles today: 10.6

Wow--we are really doing it...we are hiking the AT!! Through seven days all is going well and we are doing more miles than expected as we are one day ahead of schedule.Southern hospitality has been great...from the Boy Scout troop that provided free food (cheese burgers, fried chicken, cookies, etc.) at Tray Gap, 55 miles into our hike (thanks Boy Scouts of NE GA Troop 605), the local couple who picked us up hitch-hiking on Hwy. 76 (thanks Tim), the local couple that run this great hiker hostel in Hiawasse, GA and the fellow GA hikers like Wizard, Kodiak and Sassy.I feel so free...liberated...and happy. As we walked today I began to notice more green plants blossoming forth as spring progresses here in the mountains, the valleys are already very green. I want to learn to feel at home here, in nature; not feel afraid, not feel separate; I want to learn to feel at home in wilderness.Yesterday morning (7:00 am on Saturday 4/5) we rode out a powerful electrical storm in torrential rain for two hours, hunkered down in our tent atop Blue Mountain (in Georgia). It was so windy then got very cold. Being so wet and potentially cold was scary, our tent held up but was saturated as water pooled beneath the floor. Later, as we hiked down the mountain into Unicoi Gap, it got sunny and hot -- we got dry and warm and the cycle was complete.Nature is a circle, a rhythym, and I want to learn where I fit in that circular rhythym so that my fear, my awe of nature grows into a peace...a unity!Montana
Date: 2003-04-07
From: Blueberry Patch Hostel (Dick's Creek Gap)

To: Muscrat Creek Shelter
Miles today: 11.6
Weather: light rain

Excellent stay at the Blueberry Patch Hiker Hostel. What a treat to take a hot shower while Lennie (one of the co-owners) did our laundry! Enjoyed the evening with Wizard, Re-Bob, Jonathan, Katy, Joanne and Cuba Libre. The Breakfast Bell rang at 8:30 a.m. and we entered the dining area (a simple, rustic room with a hand-made table and a view of the mountains) to see a table full of pancakes, sausages, biscuits, coffee, juice, etc. What wonderful people. Gary hiked the trail in the 70's with his son and he and Lennie open their home to hikers for about 75 days every hiking season. Great folks. All our gear was loaded onto a flatbed trailer and we all piled in the truck as Lennie hugged each of us and wished us luck and Greg dropped us back to the trail by 10. A dark, dreary, misty, humid day. The walking was slick and challenging. This was a difficult hiking day with lots of steep ups. My body gets tired and seems to always be hungry and thirsty. But by the end of each day, we are re-fueled. The hikers are great people- a nice community... THEAT
Date: 2003-04-08
From: Muscrat Creek Shelter

To: Carter Gap Shelter
Miles today: 12.5
Weather: light rain

Day #9 Rain and MiceToday was very...rainy. It was just misty in themorni8ng then there would be the occasional dorps of water that would fall from the trees every so often. But then around 1pm, the skies opened up and it poured for about 2 hours. It was horrible - my pants were soaked through and I seriously thought I was gonna become hypothermic! Anywho, we arrived here at the (backup-like) Carter Gap Shelter around 3:15, and actually decided to stay in the shelter - our first non-tent night of the trip. It should be interesting though - I don't know how I'll deal with the mice though. Oh well, good company though - me, Mom, Alan, Wizard, Rebob and Potatohead (who's really nice!). This should be an experience nonetheless. We may decide to go the 16 miles to the place where we hitch a ride into Franklin tomorrow. If we don't make that obscene mileage goal, we'll go as far as we can, and then go the rest of the way on Thurs. Personally, I'm hoping for option #2. Well, I have to go pee (I don't know where though!). And then I'll hit the sack I guess!- Makoshika