morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2012-09-04
To: Through the Whites
Miles today: 0.0

                I returned to the White Mountains. The mountains did not change, however my memories of them had grown hazy. The beauty of the mountains were altogether still extravagant, but were not more extravagant than my memories. It was as if I thought they would surpass my memories, but memories tend to exaggerate.        The people, at the huts, on the trail, were all different, which made all the difference. I t was so odd, like visiting a friends house and finding someone else living there. In the case for the huts, most of these new people were more friendly than the previous inhabitants.        I joined a group of seven on this new trek through the Whites. I had gone through the Whites alone so getting Work-for-stay and hiking in a parade on the ridges above the clouds, was a new twist.        As a group member, who had experienced the Whites before, I felt entitled to give advise, but the advice was for that of what I had experienced last year and therefor it was faulty.         As I walked through the places I had been, the memories reenacted in my head, I remembered my past emotions, my struggles, and my goals. I remember who I met at the huts and How I had been treated. It was as if ghost roamed around, while the present played itself out. I kept feeling surprised to see different things, and had to realize things will never be as they were and that I can take solace in it.        The exciting thing about hiking a trail is that you never really know what's coming next. When I hiked the twenty miles section I had missed on my thru-hike. I was returned to the unknown. It was nice to end my while reminiscent walk. The whole experience of living the past , and living the present was a new experience and I was glad to walk into the unknown.        The climb was long and hard, but not quite as long and hard as I had imagined. The beauty was new, and it made it all the more breathtaking. I had imagined gray rugged mountains, that never ended, but instead I saw toadstool in the mosses green as life. And I saw Mount Washington from a new angle. I stayed at a mellow hut, tucked away. Where we ate pasta shells filled with cheese and covered in sauce. Where a hiker spoke about his hike for work-for-stay and we slept on the floor. It was altogether normal, but altogether new.
Date: 2012-12-22
To: View Entry
Miles today: 0.0

After over a year of work, I have written a book about my thru-hike on the Appalachian Trail. It has been such a great journey. And I feel like I lived it over and over, each time I went to edit my book. I miss the trail and all that it means to me. I hope the book can be inspirational, and informative to all that get to read it. Sheltered An Appalachian Trail Story, can be found on Amazon. Enjoy1
Date: 2011-05-28
To: Let the Trail Journal begin!
Miles today: 0.0

Ah,It's 2:00am in Athens and I am learning how to post my first journal entry! Although not the most riveting entry, it is essential. I fly into Portland Maine around 5:30 on Wednesday June 1st. I have still yet to confirm how I am making my way to the Mountain, but my options are either 1. Bus... 2. Facebook/University contact... or 3. Friendly Trucker. Perhaps there will be a combination of all three!If anyone sees this and has some connections in Maine, feel free to give me a shout! I am in no rush to get on the trail immediately when I get up there, so I can take a couple days. I look forward to the hike SOBO!Anxious,Amplexus706.490.4845
Date: 2011-06-19
From: Monson, Maine

To: Caratunk, Maine
Miles today: 151.4

A quick post before I go to sleep.I am sitting in a place called Northern Outdoors in The Forks, ME. It is a nice facility and I have been able to bunk with several hikers to save costs. There is a hot tub here, but I did not make use of the amenity. I have enjoyed 2 dinners and will enjoy my second HEALTHY breakfast here tomorrow morning before I head out. There is absolutely no cell service here in "town" but there is WiFi and I am actually typing on a borrowed computer from a hiker that has decided to call it quits on his thru-hike.Over the last few days, these are some of the things I have seen and experienced. I saw a dead moose carcass, 11 snakes in one 6 hour period, got rained on twice, 2 great views, and a 15 mile day into Caratunk where I got my first legitimate hitch.I received 2 great boxes of food from my parents, but have decided to mail part of the food ahead of me to a stop a few days down the trail so that I am not carrying such an enormous amount of weight. At some point I will figure out the best way to mail and coordinate food.I've met several interesting people. I met 2 NOBO (North Bound) hikers here at Northern Outdoors. Their names are Chainsaw and Victus. Both are rocking some pretty stout beards. I am hoping to have a similar one when I return. I am taking a daily photograph so you can see the progression in the end. It should be fairly entertaining.I'll refrain from dropping to many names in this post, but I figured that I would note that the trail and trail people are both CRAZY. As I write this post, one member of our SOBO crew is fornicating with 2 somewhat healthy ladies in another room after having smoked weed and drank himself silly... well my definition of silly. Perhaps he disagrees. When asked to join the "party" it was easy for the other 3 in our room to decline since we have been trying to go to bed for over an hour. Different lifestyles out here for sure. No one is the same.Alas, I will give you my anticipated destinations in case you felt like charting my course on a map. The sequence for the next few towns I will go through are Stratton ME, Andover ME, and Gorham NH. I anticipate being in New Hampshire on 7/2, 7/3 weekend. Wish me luck!Oh, I almost forgot. I caught a fish with my hands. I took a short video where I reference Bear Grylls, so perhaps I can figure out how to start loading those online soon enough. Oh the excitement!SOBO to Georgia,JoshAmplexus "Lexus"cell: 706.490.4845E-mail: joshseehorn@gmail.comwww.joshseehorn.com***remember that you are welcome to sell baked goods to raise money for this HOBO thru-hiker. Please let me know if you would like to send a gift or a letter for me to read! :-) ***
Date: 2011-06-22
From: Caratunk, Maine

To: Stratton, Maine
Miles today: 36.5
Weather: overcast clouds

6/22 (Wednesday) - Stratton, MaineIt has been a great few days since I left Caratunk, ME. My friend Foot-Z and I took the canoe ferry across the Kennebec River and had a good nights rest in a lean-to. It was AMAZING hearing the loons echo across the lake we were nearby! The best word to describe the sounds would have to be majestic.The next morning we were harassed by a ruffed grouse who obviously was protecting little ones somewhere. It came charging down the hill as if it were the size of an ostrich, hissing and flapping it's wings, then darted off the trail to try to make us follow it. Very interesting interaction!Last night we stayed at Safford campsite and enjoyed some great weather! There were 3 girls that were hiking who ended up staying at the campsite too, so it was nice to have conversation with people who have been more connected to society! We also had some great cell service in there and I posted a picture on facebook of where/how I slept last night (6/21). Good times!I am writing from a place called the Stratton Motel. It's a nice place. We actually have t.v. in our room! WHOA! I haven't watched a t.v. in 3 weeks! Warm shower, nice bed, general store, pizza, ice cream, cell service, internet. What a wonderful combination.I will be headed out for only a few days to try to make it into Rangeley by 6/25. I hear there is a movie theater there! Monster Metropolis of Rangeley here I come! YES!I am officially under 2,000 miles left in my trip. I have traveled 187.9 miles of my 2,181 mile journey. Brings a smile to my face, but I know there is much more terrain ahead. I am looking forward to the rest of the trip despite how long it seems it will take. It is nice to get an e-mail or facebook message of encouragement, so thanks to everyone who has done so! I will probably be running the last 300 miles once I get farther south!I believe it is suppose to rain solid for the next 3 days, so wish me luck doing these mountains in the wet. They are twice as difficult for sure. But it keeps a dirty, smelly hiker that much cleaner!Alas, my love handles are gone!,JoshAmplexus "Lexus" SOBO '11www.joshseehorn.comjoshseehorn@gmail.com
Date: 2011-01-18
To: View Entry
Miles today: 0.0

I can't believe this is all coming together. It didn't feel very real for a long time. Even now it's hard to believe that this March, I'll be hitting the trail. What really helped bring on the reality of it was starting to dehydrate food. Gear is one thing - you need gear for any trip, so it's not too out of place. But the bags of food are concrete evidence that something is about to happen. Something big. Something that, if I weren't completely committed to it, I wouldn't be suffering for as I type this. Suffering?, you say quizzically. This brings me to the point of this prep post. Don't dehydrate onions, garlic pasta sauce, and pickled peppers all in one go, in the room where you're sleeping. It might give you dreams about the walls turning into salami.
Date: 2011-01-28
To: View Entry
Miles today: 0.0

I just got some news that makes it official. I am doing the AT this spring, come high or hell water. I cannot believe it actually came together - even though I've been repeating to myself for months that it would. I know there must be some of you out there that know what I'm talking about.In celebration for being officially committed to a 6 month bug-rain-stink-hunger-fest, I will give some of my reasons for hiking the AT. This is for those of you who don't get why anyone would commit to an ongoing activity that may be deemed a fest of even ONE of those. Reason # 1:Not having a to-do list for 6 months. (Yes, this whole hiking for 6 months thing is actually my carefully conceived plan to avoid responsibility for at least some given period in my life. When do you really get a chance like this, until you retire? So really I'm hiking the AT out of sheer laziness.) Reason # 2: Accomplishing the most challenging thing I will have ever attempted. (Hmm, besides convincing my parents that this is a good idea - still working on that!)Reason # 3: Being away from almost everyone. For most of the time, for half of a year. Reason # 4: Meeting interesting people - city people, country people, old people, young people, military people, civilian people, nice people, crazy people, funny people, boring people, and section hikers. (:D that one's for Eric)Reason # 5:Becoming fit and fabulous. Reason # 6:Having the time to actually think about and reflect on things - religion, physics, how much mosquitoes suck, etc. Reason # 7: I already eat and shower like a thru hiker, so might as well hike to go along with it. Reason # 8: Getting to live like humans used to live. Getting detached from technology and attached to the earth. (mmm, can you smell the wafting aroma of a cliche?)Reason # 9: Getting to look and smell like a crazy bag lady for 5 months without caring. Reason # 10: Love.
Date: 2011-01-29
To: View Entry
Miles today: 0.0

Not sure how many more prep articles I'll write, but I'm writing this third one because you need at least 3 for the journal to get published. Now my brilliant thoughts will become visible to the masses, who will indubitably proceed to become amazed by my clarity of thinking and eloquence, sending me fanmail and showering me with adoring praise....Anyways, the real point of this entry is to introduce Catalyst (assuming the name is sticking for now). Catalyst is my partner-to-be on the trail, and I owe her a lot. I'll skip the mushy crap, but I couldn't have asked for a better person to spend 5 months with. Here's to hoping that we have lots of laughs, that we get each other through the tough times, and that we have at least one spectacular fight. :D
Date: 2011-01-30
To: View Entry
Miles today: 0.0

Before the entry, I'd like to thank everyone that's signed my guestbook so far - I never knew how exciting it would be to get an email saying that someone's been reading your ramblings. Hopefully I'll see you all on the trail - though our start date is looking a lot more like the end of March now. So walk slowly. :D --------------------------------------A first happened to me a couple of days ago, when I was prepping food for the AT. I cut my finger and it started bleeding. What sharp instrument did I cut it with? Tomato sauce. (yes, it was definitely blood) Anyways, that's a first - never had a vegetable induced injury before. Gotta remember to not over-dehydrate.Speaking of dehydrating, I've been prepping food with more gusto recently. A combination of finally having schlepped to Costco and "holy crap I'm leaving in a month!" setting in. Catalyst and I are planning to do a mix of mail drops and grocery stores in town, so that reduces our dehydrating load. The strategy on my end was to pick ~10 backpacking recipes that sounded good and try to dehydrate as many ingredients as possible for those recipes. Most of them use already-prepped food, like powdered sauce mixes and garlic powder. So all I had to do was go pick up some common theme ingredients and (unsuccessfully) avoid impulse buying.And another first - yesterday I had my first flight lesson! A Cessna 172, with Chris from Wings Aloft as my instructor. We flew over Puget Sound and did a few landings. It was both terrifying and awesome. This was just for fun - I'm not looking at getting my private license until a few years from now since it costs an arm an a leg, and a liver, and two kidneys. Sven was on the flight as well, and he can testify that I'm an excellent pilot. I just shook the airplane a little for excitement. But back to the real point here. AAAAAAHHHHHHHH ONLY A MONTH LEFT!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Date: 2011-02-12
To: View Entry
Miles today: 0.0

Here's a fun Friday night activity: buy 10 lbs of yellow onions and caramelize them into oblivion. To do this, you might want to lure an unsuspecting friend to your house. It's better if the friend is enthusiastic about helping you prepare for your journey. Once they're inside, don't bring out the onions right away - ease into it by first having dinner or some wine - grease the wheels, so to speak. Once said friend is settled in and unlikely to leave upon sight of the night's activity, explain how awesome caramelized onions are and how happy they will make you on the trail. Said friend will want to help out of the goodness of their heart. Set them up with a cutting board, a knife, and a Costco-sized bag of onions, and you're good to go! Warning: handling onions can be a tear-jerking experience. (This is a dramatization for entertainment purposes only. Please do not try this at home. No friends were harmed in the events of this post)Acknowledgements: 1) Gerd, for being a champion at peeling and chopping onions (and making the pun about how tear-jerking it was). It was fantastic to have some help. 2) Gerd and my housemates, for not minding - out loud, anyway- that the house now smells like an onion truck.
Date: 2011-02-26
To: View Entry
Miles today: 0.0

I was watched tonight. For about an hour, I could feel eyes on me, ready to pounce if I made any sudden moves. Actually, it was the chicken that was under surveillance - canned chicken that was about to go into my dehydrator. As soon as I opened the first can, my roommate's dog wanted in on that action. She knew that mere cuteness wouldn't cut it, so she opted for creepiness. She stared at me intensely for an hour, after which I finally caved and let her have a few pieces of what appears to be crack to that little dog. So I have decided to try this method on the trail. Over the next month, I will study master beggar Charlotte the Terrier. Once I have learned her ways of making people uncomfortable until they relinquish their food, I will employ these foolproof techniques on section hikers and bright eyed, bushy tailed weekend warriors. Clearly I will never go hungry, and I will make Charlotte proud. ...and if that doesn't pan out, good thing I'm stocking up food like the ant from the Aesop fable. (Actually I would be inverse Aesop ant, given that the Aesop ant stocked in the summer months and consumed said stockpiles during winter, thereby insuringHEY LOOK A BIRD!)
Date: 2011-03-08
To: View Entry
Miles today: 0.0

Bought my ticket to Georgia today. Started looking for an Atlanta - Springer shuttle. Attempted to be a productive member of society. Failed. Did more shuttle searching. Dehydrated food. Attempted again to do work. Gave up on the work thing. Looked through the other thru-hikers on WhiteBlaze for weirdos. Good day.
Date: 2011-03-31
From: Amicalola Falls State Park 

To: Springer Mountain Shelter
Miles today: 8.8
Weather: broken clouds

And we're off! Today we can only be described as "happy as clams." Giddy, giggly clams. Hotrock picked us up for our ride from Gainesville to Amicalola (along with Oompa - another hiker that's now a few days ahead of us, we figure). He gave me some wisdom from his time on the AT on the ride up. After a brief stint gazing at the snakes (in cages) at the Amicalola Falls Lodge, we started up the approach trail. The falls were worth the stairs, though many and ruthless they were. We were on Springer Mountain, madly excited, at around 4:30 pm. As expected, the shelter at Springer was full. Mountain Squid came up to say hi, and it was great to meet him as well as the other thru hopefuls (and friends of said hopefuls). Looks like there are about 10 of us leaving the shelter for an April Fools start. Our dehydrated Cascade stew with beef was delightful. Given that both Catalyst and I threw caution to the wind and didn't try any of our dehydrated food, it was a relief when dinner turned out well. Today we pretty much did every chore together - tent setup, cooking, etc to get the hang of it. It's a chilly night, but downright balmy compared to winter in New Hampshire - what we're used to hiking in. We're looking forward to warmer weather though. My favorite piece of gear so far - the Platypus 4L tank we brought for getting water in camp. Though the down jacket I almost left at home come in with a close second. Katahdin - how far do I have to goooo to get to you? Many the milesss..ooooh, many the miillessss (had that song in my head a lot today)
Date: 2011-04-01
From: Springer Mountain Shelter

To: View Entry
Miles today: 10.0

Happy April Fools Day! As I'm writing this, a thunderous helicopter is passing overhead for what seems like the 30th time. We are camped out on a ridge past Hawk Mountain Shelter. Here's an analogy for you - as CITY is to NYC, SHELTER is to Hawk Mountain Shelter tonight. That's how crowded it was. We're just by our lonesomes tonight at a campsite, enjoying our fire and significantly warmer weather. Today was a fun 10 miles. There are a crazy amount of April Fools starters, each having their own April Fools moments, I'm sure. Catalyst and I hiked alone most of the day. Right before we camped, we ran into "Whiteblaze Killa" who was trying to catch up to his buddy. His buddy had left while he was taking a break at the shelter, not realizing that he was still there. So the buddy thought he was ahead and was trying to catch up to him, while he was trying to catch his buddy.Our own April Fools moment came when we had this conversation: "Hey, do you have the paracord? I can go hang the bear bag""uhh, no, I thought you brought the cord.""crap. we left the paracord at home."Luckily we had some extra we had used to tie up our checked bag on the flight to Atlanta, so we used that. We need a longer one though, so that's on our list for Neels Gap.
Date: 2011-04-02
From: Sassafras Mountain

To: Woody Gap
Miles today: 10.5
Weather: broken clouds

Weather so far has been golden. On top of that, we've made a few new friends - Pocahontas, whom we hiked with most of the day, Nalgene Ninja, and Ugly (not actually ugly). We all camped together about 1 mile north of Woody Gap. Bear bagging was especially challenging. We got the rock that the cord was tied to stuck in the tree and couldn't get it down. Pocahontas went to grab her knife from camp. Meanwhile I tried to climb the tree - in my crocs. It forked into two large branches about 6 feet up, and I made it to the fork. Unfortunately I couldn't reach the rock/cord. Ugly came up with her to see if he couldn't give it a try, and sure enough, he brute strength-ed that cord right on down. At this point our mission was accomplished, but I realized I was stuck in the tree. Ugly left before realizing that, and luckily Pocahontas was there to save me. She took all of my weight while I got myself unstuck. What a trooper. I don't think she even told anyone about it, which must have taken great restraint.Anyways - good weather, an awesome fire, and cool new people - still happy as a clam.
Date: 2011-04-04
From: Neels Gap

To: Low Gap
Miles today: 11.0
Weather: clear sky

Life on the trail has not been dull so far, I'll give you that. It's been painful, hot, freezing, hilarious, peaceful, and simply wonderful - but never dull. At the moment I'm inside my sleeping bag in Low Gap shelter, with Catalyst and about 6 others (including Nalgene Ninja). There is a raging thunderstorm and we are right in the middle of it. Blissfully dry, but right in the middle. Yesterday we were at Neels Gap. We sent home maybe 1 lb of stuff between the two of us (extra things we'd packed by accident - we had 3 bottles of hand sanitizer. I also sent home a stuff sack for clothes and grabbed some plastic bags), and picked up paracord and some other random little things. Having a shower was deeeeelightful. We ended up spending about $40-50 there - money well spent!Before leaving Neels Gap, I ran into Shenanigans who told me about a bear that had come into Woods Hole Shelter last night. Apparently the bear tried to get at the cables and failed. He also had a go with an Ursack. He wasn't able to open it, but pulverized the food inside while trying his hardest. There are lots of bear warnings on both sides of Neels Gap right now - apparently people are getting their food stolen left and right. I'm glad to be safe and sound at this fantastic shelter (first time we're not tenting). We'll see how the sleep goes, between the snoring and the thunder...I'm not sure which is louder.
Date: 2011-04-05
From: Low Gap

To: Blue Mountain Shelter
Miles today: 7.0
Weather: scattered clouds

Holy Thunder! Last night was crazy! Today we did 7 miles to rest up, though neither of us has any major issues. We're at Blue Mountain Shelter, a notoriously windy perch, with Pocahontas, Fly Feet, Shenanigans, Trump, Maximus and BAM, Alessio, the tuna-wielding weekend hiker, and some other thru-s. Pocahontas led us in yoga (she's an instructor - WIN) and we hung out by the fire. Much merriment was had at dinner time. News from other people on the trail was shared - as Pocahontas said, so much happens in the span of a couple of days! It's interesting to think about the dropout rate. Which of these hikers will still be here in 2 months? So far no one terribly annoying, so hopefully all.The most random thing that happened on our trip so far - three people at the shelter tonight spoke Turkish. Turns out that Shenanigans is half Turkish. Then there's me (full Turk, raaar). Another gal (who kept hiking to Unicoi Gap)- Wildcat - lived in Turkey and went to a university there. So all of a sudden we were all speaking Turkish together, confusing the people around us and trying to figure out how we all knew Turkish...in Turkish. Looking forward to Try Mountain tomorrow and...and...the Cheese Factory!