morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2009-07-15
From: secret shelter

To: mayor's house
Miles today: 0.9

definately a big-miles day today - 0.9! after a beautiful night under the stars with a gourmet meal of ramen/stuffing/chicken/pesto, we rolled into unionville to pick up a mail drop and get a snack. lo and behold, there's spoonman, who exhorts us to stay and hang out at the mayor's. so, one tasty turkey sandwich and a black cherry boylan's soda later, i'm spending the day at the mayor's.i have a busy schedule: shower, laundry, check e-mail, nap, and chill. there are bunks inside, but it's a beautiful day so i want to camp tonight. i've officially reached the "don't wanna sleep inside" stage of the game.oh, yea, my broken hand. still have the awesome red cast on...just made the appointment to get it off on 7.23!! i don't think it has slowed me up at all. i had to take greater care going through the rocks in pa, but i still kept my mileage where it would have been with 2 good hands. as in all things, "wholeness is brokeness owned."thanks to all for your shout-outs and well-wishes. next major stop will be kent, ct late next week sometime.
Date: 2009-08-04
From: tom levandri's in dalton

To: View Entry
Miles today: 0.0

s'up peeps? am chilling at tom's in dalton. after a month of suh-weet weather from harper's ferry into new jersey, we've hit the new england rain. i can't believe that we're half way through massachusetts. wow. the last several, many days have consisted of slogging through mud and muck across roots and rocks. nice. we did a 20 from the tom leonard lean-to (they're lean-tos now) to the upper goose pond cabin. totally worth the slog. but that 20 felt like 30. not that i would know what 30 feels like. meh-heh. from tom's we'll head to cheshire to pick up a mail drop with food to get me to bennington. bennington is in our sights for friday. my friends from arizona, shero and tyna, are in vt on vacay, and we hope to kick it with them on friday night before they head back to the furnace on saturday. 1,500 definately has some nuances. i could feel my enthusiasm waning on the 20-mile slog to UGP cabin. but the kick-ass pancakes (and seeing joe kickass at tom leonard) totally rejuvinated my enthusiasm. also, thanks to the smokestacks for trekking from nj to overnight with us. what a blast we had last friday @ 20 railroad in great barrington. and thanks to the trail angels who left chocolate pudding and black cherry soda on the climb to beckett mnt. suh-weet.well, it's late for a hiker and i'm bushed. that 14 tomorrow won't hike itself. ttfn, fc
Date: 2009-08-10
From: bennington

To: View Entry
Miles today: 0.0

greetings from vermont!that's right, we've entered the great hippie kingdom of bohemian vermont. i feel right at home. trailwise, we're at 1,600 miles in bennington in southern vermont. actual location-wise, i'm in rutland b/c we hopped up this weekend to go to the long trail festival and see some hikers we haven't seen in a while (wheeler, couscous, fat kid, top shelf, gezza, storyteller, slapshot, panza, quixote, solar system, naneek). i'm a happy girl b/c they had hulahoops at the festival. hulahooping while listening to bluegrass as the sun went down? nirvana!!! we'll catch a ride back to bennington today and start hiking north again this afternoon.btw, i had 2 mail drops sent to the autumn inn motel in bennington. i didn't end up staying there b/c we went to rutland and they held my packages hostage for $20 dollars.
Date: 2008-09-10
To: Gearing up for spring
Miles today: 0.0

Just an update on my AT walk. It's still a GO :-)I'm aiming for a 1 Apr 09 start from Springer. I've walked a bit on the Northern LT (Vermont/Vermud), hiked in Nevada desert & hills and then a four day trip through some Oregon PCT all this last summer. I started the summer with a trip to Florida, but that wasn't a hiking trip LOL. I have felt every penny of the gas costs though :-(By gearing up, I don't mean more gear or hardware as that is all set. I'm talking about the mental aspect of getting me through the winter and ready to hike for day-after-day. All my hard earned callous's are fading as I'm sure my hiking muscles. Only my girth is growing - time to walk a bit locally!
Date: 2008-09-25
To: Things I'll have to give up
Miles today: 0.0

This entry added to make the journal visible to all. Don't read it if you don't want :-)#1 addiction - netflix - I love it. I'm a 4 at a time viewer with a pretty fast turn around and a queue always close to the 500 limit. They will let you vacation mode it for 30 days but not 5 - 6 months. The plan is to drop it down to 1 at a time and preload it with a bunch of Wombat's & Flicka's* dvds.#2 internet news, playing, general surfing. My phone can do some minor surfing, but battery charge will keep that to a bare minimum. Weather outlook and emergency use. When in town it'll let me call home with no limit, but otherwise it's pretty much cold turkey .#3 music. I'm contemplating taking my mp3 player. It also has a radio mode so I can get weather info. I'll carry it in a baggie, but it's not an expensive model so if damaged I can't cry too long :-)#4 Trail Journals - I know you can only see it from the internet, but it feels like I'm reading so I treat it as a book LOL. I obviously won't have much time to check on other hikers hiking, but I won't be able to write much myself. I'm thinking bi-weekly reports. Also considering snail mail/transcriber. If I have email then I'd just add entry myself :-P~~~* Wife and daughter trailnames. see other hikes for their participation.
Date: 2008-10-11
To: less than 6 and counting :-)
Miles today: 0.0

5 months and 20 days - I've been working towards this for a couple years now and have just one winter to get around. Yes, I'd love to get a good season of snowmobiling in, BUT I know that I can't be fooling around like I normally might and end up hurting myself before the hike! The same goes with skiing, I'll be in Oregon for christmas and will need to remember that as well, LOL. I've already started reading other '09ers TJ to watch them get ready too.Might try sleeping in my winter set up tonight in hammock. Expected low 32 degrees :-) I might catch some of those temps when I first set out next spring so it will be a good test.Current research for the hike - FOOD. I'm trying out these foil packs meats I've heard about from other TJ's. The first one was Bumble Bee brand Albacore Steak (mesquite flavored) I thought was pretty good and hey it has a shelf life of 2 years. Must be time to start buying them :-) Two others are Chicken of the Sea Salmon Steak and a store brand tuna in a pouch. I might have to add something to the store brand. But I'll leave those meals until later. I can only eat so much fish at one time, but I'm glad to add something to my hike diet that isn't going to spoil, has little weight in waste and I can eat without cooking if need be (I ate the Bumble Bee cold).Addendum 15 Oct 08 I didn't sleep in my hammock, but not because of the temps. When I went to go set it up the wind was blowing the rain sideways. We ended up with record breaking rainfall for friday and saturday. I would have drowned like a rat! New plan calls for another "attempt" thursday night (16 Oct) as we are not expecting another monsoon LOL
Date: 2008-10-19
To: hammock test
Miles today: 0.0

The hammock test went well. It didn't quite get to 32 to 35 degrees like I wanted, but at 39 degrees I slept very warmly.My last piece of gear came in. Gaiters are something I have looked at but never tried. While I was on the Long Trail, I went thru several areas where the trail was all but hidden by growth. Long Trail Linsa's son described it as a car wash and I can confirm that dew just drenched my lower legs as I passed. In addition, prickly things will now be kept at bay a little better. I'll try them locally first and if they pass, they go to Springer with me. For the gearheads (I'm not one) they are M's Verglas Gaiters by Outdoor Research. I used my REI dividend, so they are "free" to me.My last planning chore is underway, drop boxes! I'm planning on one a month. For me, they will contain things I don't expect to be common along the trail or want the expense to come now. So water filter cartridge replacements and Nutella top that list.My first drop box might become a bounce box, but that I will take as it comes. I have learned that I don't like hiking to a short term schedule, so will pre-list addresses along the trail but they won't go on the box until it's shipped out. While in the Air Force, a motto was "Flexibility is the key to Air Power" and I'm adapting (and adopting) it to be Flexibility is the key to a Fun Hike. I hope to prove that it's true!
Date: 2008-10-31
To: is it gear?
Miles today: 0.0

Well the last thing is in, but I don't consider it "gear" and yet I (a very capital 'I') have to have it. It is also my main drive for drop boxes as I have to split it up over the length of the trail. So what is it? It's the map set from ATC LOL :-)I LOVE maps. The ones I use will get mailed home as pretty much the only physical keepsake I will have. Everything else will be spiritual/mental. After all, if I take a fellow hiker home to keep, the law may frown upon it, but I've heard Stumpknocker might be good with it if I lived along the AT. 5 months to go, and yes, I'm counting the days!
Date: 2008-11-29
To: cold weather sleep test
Miles today: 0.0

Took my sleeping bag out to my deck and went to sleep. Went to sleep at 20 deg(F) and woke up at 3 am to the same temp, but I was toasty warm. However, the dew was setting in and everything was getting wet so I headed back indoors with my gear. At dawn everything was coated in a white shroud. Test succesful :-)
Date: 2009-01-06
To: Laying around waiting for spring
Miles today: 0.0

Like the rest of the class of 09 it's finally here. A few brave souls have already started. I don't want to slough through snow myself ;o) This is Wombat at the computer with a test transmission from Flatlander. This was sent via a cellphone. We'll all see if technology can last on the AT. Pocketmail is too expensive and mail can get lost (paper and stamps are my backup). Good luck to All! Well, I guess it works Wombat
Date: 2009-02-02
To: Still on schedule
Miles today: 0.0

Still looking at a 1 April start. Isn't that hike naked day? I won't be taking part in that, but I won't stop anyone else =) Hey, imagine trying to subdue a 300 lb naked drunk guy, yeah not pretty! (btw I'm not the 300 lb drunk guy) The group starting that day should always have the moniker of April Fools.8 weeks to go. I can't pack up my pack yet as my sleeping bag would be too compacted by two months of compression. I have been walking on the tread mill, mile after mile after ... boring, but outside temp is slippery and negative zero degrees. I pretend I'm heading to Georgia as the crow flies! Just since 1 Jan 09 I'm a 100 miles closer LOL. New month gets increased daily miles (as will Mar) might have to go back to jogging them just to shorten the duration of treadmilling. Anyone know if jogging helps hiking (discounting the lack of ups and downs)?????
Date: 2009-02-13
To: The "I" in Friday (the 13th)
Miles today: 0.0

How lucky are we that we have two friday the 13th's in a row? I consider superstitions silly, but try not to make a fuss over someone else's quirks.Six weeks with 27 workdays to go. I want to go now. I don't want to wait any more. I want to climb on my rooftop and yell "I'm going" (with the snow and ice up there, I'd probably fall and injure myself). I have always wanted to go hiking/packing, but it wasn't until 2002 and riding the Cog Rail to Mt Washington that it became I-want-to-hike-the-AT. I think it was winter 06-07 (maybe the winter earlier?) I found trailjournal.com and 2009 became THE year. I know the "can't hardly wait for Christmas" feeling, but what if it came 47 years apart. I WANT to go NOW!Hey, someone else's journal to read is Mark Allen's. We haven't meet, but we share a kinship in the military and I hope to bump into him on the trail.I want to write everyday, but it would all be the same rant about starting the hike. One dose a month is enough. Thanks for bearing with me!
Date: 2009-03-03
To: Will The Real Flatlander Please Stand Up
Miles today: 0.0

Holy smokes batman! Another "flatlander" started on the AT on Feb 15. It wasn't ME. I don't start for another 4 weeks. Boy that sounds close now LOL. Anyway, I want a new trailname. Since last summer I have been thinking "Social Moth" I came up with that one morning on the trail when I was "emerging" from my sleeping bag and the narrator in my head was talking about the butterfly coming out of it's cocoon but once I reached my armpits, I thought that ain't no butterfly! I don't mind hiking alone in the day but I seem to really crave human contact once in camp. Plus Social Moth sounds way better than "the hiker formerly known as Flatlander"I thought I'd made my last purchase, but I was wrong. I've been contemplating taking a deck of cards. I've been contemplating taking a little "guide" about edible plants. I own both of those already. What I settled on was a new (and hopefully last) purchase of a deck of card with edible plant info on them. They are called "wild cards" and there were a few different sources on the internet. I have only glanced at them because I don't want to get bored by them before I set out, but they look pretty good. Their only drawback is they have additional info on the backs so it is possible to memorize the cards from the back. I accept that limitation =) Due to a snow day, another work day was added to my schedule, but even with that, I'm down to 18 workdays and today is half over! Good hiking to all those already on the trail and those about to start. I'll read your shelter logs when I get there.**BTW there are three Eminem references in this entry & yes, I'm 48 and like Eminem.
Date: 2009-03-27
To: Red Light/ Green Light
Miles today: 0.0

Travel day 1 (of 3) Ouch, It's hard to say goodbye to friends and family!!The red river is rising and freeways are closing. I need to go South-East to Georgia and South and East are questionable. I make it to Grand Forks and meet Daughter and Boyfriend (Pebbles and Bam-Bam) from GC hike. Just as I'm waiting in line to cross the bridge that will lead me on back roads I hear the freeway opens up. I'm off on a race now before flood waters close the crossing in Fargo-Moorhead. I make it just fine and sleep in Wisconsin.
Date: 2009-03-28
To: More weather dodging
Miles today: 0.0

Travel day 2 (of 3) Northern half of Illinois is under a winter storm warning expecting 6 to 8 inches of snow. I drive with only stops being for fuel and bathroom. I manage to stay within the rain band and actually clear the front at 7pm just in time for the sun to set, oh well it was too bright anyway!! I get to sleep in a holiday inn express just north of Nashville. 12.5 hours of continous driving - I'm tired =).
Date: 2009-03-29
To: Hello Alabama
Miles today: 0.0

Travel day 3 (of 3) Wide awake way too early, but they let me have breakfast anyway. Got to my son's house and was very well feed (last meal.....). Looks like we have to leave for Neels Gap at 4 am to try for an 8 am shuttle back to Amicolola Falls. Next entry via transcription via Wombat. Possible dry first day with 4 days of rain to follow :P~~~~~
Date: 2009-03-30
From: Amacolola Falls

To: Black Gap Shelter
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: overcast clouds

Arrived Neels Gap after driving since 4 am. Got a shuttle over to Falls and up the stairs Ryan and I went. Not bad, but could have gone further except warned about a big group at Springer itself. We'll wait until Tuesday! 7.3 non AT miles! We got a ride with "cool breeze" he says Stumpknocker slackpacks too much LOL!! The shuttle over for us both was $90 that a little above normal rate but couldn't get anything else. We had a very good time climbing the stairs at and over the falls. I'm very glad they rerouted Approach trail that way. The falls were extremely worth while. We didn't meet anyone until the shelter and that was a trio that told us about the large group at springer. excellent weather today even if miles don't count.
Date: 2009-03-31
From: Black Gap Shelter

To: Hawk Mountain Shelter
Miles today: 7.6
Weather: light rain

Plus 1.5 miles from Black Gap to Springer great weather! Reached Springer and now the miles finally count - SWEET! I sent Wombat the text "I'm on the top of the world" That's what they say when they summit Mount Everest. This IS my mount Everest - all 2178.3 miles of it.We had lunch at Stover Creek Shelter and a mom & son stopped in. The mom was dropping son off and hiked in with him for a couple miles. She was headed back to car and home and gave me and ryan a pbj sandwich some cheese and a couple other things she didn't want to carry back - awesome trail magic already =). We pressed on to Hawk Mountain. It had lots of people but we still got in the shelter (the loft). I read the shelter log and saw the other "flatlander" was a mis read by the guy I read about him - it's really Flatman - YES! I can use Flatlander with no confusion!! I'm one happy Camper =) We meet Sparky (section to Flanklin), Rainbow Brite and husband (now going by "the apostle"), "B" and Otter. Many others aren't named because they are so much faster that just one meeting doesn't count
Date: 2009-04-01
From: Hawk Mountain Shelter

To: Gooch Mtn Shelter
Miles today: 7.3
Weather: overcast clouds

Rougher trail today more similiar to Approach trail. If you skipped that part then this was the average hiker's first hard day. We ran out of water - but knew water was ahead so no worries - it does make for such a lighter pack though LOL. A bit rainy but really not bad hiking. Still had good temps through out. Meet "Bark and Berry" from previous TJ message swap - a neat thing out in the wilderness. Again we get a shelter spot. My mouse trap catches a mouse but he runs off with it in the dark. Other mice run around and even tear into Ryan toilet paper for a second night in a row. I find the trap and dead mouse in the AM. Don't be sad, they are just disease carrying vermin.
Date: 2009-04-02
From: Gooch Mtn Shelter

To: Neel's Gap - Mountain Crossings
Miles today: 15.6
Weather: broken clouds

Ryan and I headed to Woods Hole Shelter (0.5) off trail, but saw Rainbow Brite and Rainman (now the apostle) leaving. They said Shelter was full the table was taken and even under the table was claimed. AND there was no water. They were going further to a tentsite (very muddy when we passed). I wanted to see how Blood Mtn was even with the reported bear problem. The weather was settling in with heavy mist and rain. The shelter was cold, windy and deserted, plus no bear cables. Well I'm not going to be bear bait so we headed down 2.5 miles to the hostel with a backup plan of just sleeping in the car if needed. We got the sofa's and counted ourselves lucky with the storm and cold everyone else experienced. We hiked that last part in the dark and walked in at 9PM. I don't like walking in the dark but not much choice. The caretaker was "pirate" , but he simed pretty disconnected about everything - turns out he was leaving in the AM and his care factor was pretty low.Just playing around on the way up blood as I was leading while Ryan got more water, I drew an arrow in the dirt - Ryan saw it =). Just some fun on the trail between father and son!
Date: 2009-04-03
From: Neel's Gap - Mountain Crossings

To: Neel's Gap - Mountain Crossings
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: light rain

Zero day with trail Magic too! Very sad to part with Ryan - it was so much fun hiking this first section with him. I am so proud!! I resupplied - mostly nature valley bar - I was out. The secret is buy what you are eating and stop carrying the stuff you aren't eating. I also bought a sleeping bag liner for $55 it adds 15 degrees and I need it with my 20 degree bag. A note on bag temps - that is the survival rating temp - about ten degrees higher you start to be uncomfortable. I forgot I'd meet Gypsy also - he looked like a fast hiker but he was at Neels Gap as well. The Store itself was just fine, but we had to bitch a bit to get the heat turned on in the hostel. I had to resort to climbing into my sleeping bag to get warm.There is a saying about outhiking people you don't like - I put this in practice on the 4th from someone at the hostel - good riddance!
Date: 2009-04-04
From: Neel's Gap - Mountain Crossings

To: Low Gap Shelter
Miles today: 10.6
Weather: overcast clouds

First milestone hit - I got to flip the map to the second side. Hey, that shows I'm actually moving =) I hiked alone most of the day, but once I got to the shelter others caught up. That's because I hiked out three hours ahead of them when they stayed for trail magic at Neels Gap.. I still ended up getting some at Hogpen Gap from "Smurf the redneck hiker" his father and future bride??Skipped the first shelter as it was 1.2 miles off trail . If I'm going to walk a combined 2.4 miles it's going to COUNT!
Date: 2009-04-05
From: Low Gap Shelter

To: Unicoi Gap
Miles today: 9.4
Weather: few clouds

Headed to town (Hiawassee) to escape storm front, but good weather as of now. Via cell phone weather it was going to be nasty starting tomorrow night and that puts me in the middle of a section. I elected to head to town and try to set up a slackpack (see 6 apr). I can't say enough good stuff about the Hiawassee Inn (1 706 896 4121) They are so helpful in everything we have needed. I'm sharing a room with Otter and Itah (how IS that spelled LOL).
Date: 2009-04-06
From: Unicoi Gap

To: Dick's Creek Gap
Miles today: 16.6
Weather: overcast clouds

OMG what a day. I Convinced 5 other to come slackpack* the miles between the Gaps while we waited out the weather (too low of lows for me--20ish). So Otter, the apostle, "B", Itai, and J.E.D. came out to play. We all grabbed Subway last night to carry out. The weather forecast was mid 40's and very windy. I hiked all day with Otter and the apostle. All was well most of the hike, and then the wind picked up more and we found ourselves in near blizzard conditions at the top of the last couple of ridges. It was sticking to everything, even us! The wind was blowing it straight across. I checked the wind chill chart and determined it was 15 degrees. I hiked in just my shorts most of the day as hiking keeps them plenty warm, but even I had to breakdown and put my wind/rain pants on towards the end. Thank goodness the beard is starting to kick in =) We're having to zero Tuesday as the weather is supposed to turn bad LOL. We'll see what Wednesday brings. * slackpacking is where you carry a day's worth of food & water. Your tent and most other gear await you some where else. In our case it stayed in the room =) It can allow big miles, and was the only way to prevent a double zero. On the plus side, that covered 2 days worth of hiking so I'm still on schedule. The bonus is I really need some time to plan the next section!
Date: 2009-04-07
From: Dick's Creek Gap

To: Dick's Creek Gap
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: overcast clouds

A true zero - we don't have to do anything. The Inn has already done our laundry (again). So I've planned out the next section that will lead me into another state - WOW, I'm close and excited even as I type this =) It's roughly 40 miles of trail with nothing in-between. So it's 4 hard days or 5 easier day. I'm taking 4.5 days of food as a compromise.I've also caught up on earlier entries so go back to 30 March and catch up with me now that I have them caught up. The group is headed to the movies tonight - it's a rough life out here on the trail!I head out on the 8th unless something goes arye (spelling??) There will be minimum update here on TJ until I get to Franklin in 5 so bear with me and thanks for reading along.(addendum) No movie as it's too far to walk for the group (huh? We're hikers, go figure). We head out to eat mexican and I meet rollo (yes after the candy) and the couple Lady B & the Italian (diff than "B" by the way). I set up an earlier time for a shuttle but we'll see who gets up =). The Hiawassee Inn charges us just the single rate since we've been well behaved. I like this place!!!