morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2003-07-04
To: Fireworks
Miles today: 949.5

To see my full journal visit:http://mywebpages.comcast.net/aharrah/4th of JulyYesterday's hike was very buggy. They say that NJ is known for it's bugs, and locals say that the bugs are worse than they have ever been. Great. I was hoping for a little rain, but finally resorted to OFF! which helped a bit.The mosquitos would bite while I was moving, and would bite 10 times as much if you stopped. So I didn't stop. No breaks, no rest, no time to eat the sandwich I bought.The trail comes o a point where it follows almost a mile of boardwalk through a marsh with tall grasses. Along the boardwalk was a bench, and interestingly enough, no bugs. I stopped for a break and soon Big Paw and Spiderman joined me.After getting some food we all walked two miles to a farm which had ice cream and sodas. But even better than the ice cream was the massage.I notice a massage place on the way to the farm and stopped by to check it out. Before walking to the shelter I enjoyed an hour of massage. The last six miles went by pretty easily. To bad I can't get ice cream and a massage during the middle of every day.Today we met some German day hikers. They seemed friendly enough, and invited us down to the lake. They said it was a half hour walk off the AT. I don't know what the others were thinking, but I was wavering. A jump in the lake sounded good, but a half hour? Since today was a short day I went.We (Eukre, Bre, Plato, Chicken Feet, Flanders and I) followed the Germans down the side of the mountain to thier place. They had a place on the lake with some nice shade trees. We all set our stuff down and enjoyed the shade.It was cool and breezy and things were good. Christina, one of the German hikers soon came out with a bunch of beers.After a bit we jumped in the lake, which felt great. While we were in the lake Barbara gathered the clothes we had laying around and put them in the wash. While she was washing the clothes her husband fired up the grill.Soon we were eating hotdogs, hamburgers, salad, and watermelon. Things were even better. After the cookout we enjoyed the various lounge chairs and hammocks they had around their yard. We all napped, slowly deciding on a shorter hiking day than we had planned.After napping came desert, in the form of an ice cream cake. Things just kept getting better. We all couldn't believe the trail magic we stumbled across. This morning I wondered what kind of 4th I would have. I figured I would hike all day and camp some place that had a view of the fireworks. I never imagined stumbling across the best trail magic.They told us about a great place to watch the local fireworks, a place right on the AT. So that's where we are camped.The fireworks show might have been the longest I've seen. I took a nap during the middle. But it was good, and seeing them go off about eye-level was pretty cool.-- Iron Toothpick
Date: 2003-01-04
To: none
Miles today: 0.0

Something amazing happened to me yesterday, a major hike-affirming event. Things are just falling into place as if by magic. As my friend Kelly observed: "It is amazing what the world can put in your pockets once you empty them!" I thought I would celebrate thusly:A '98 AT thru-hiker wrote this on one of my hiking lists. I wanted to post it here.Message: 2Date: Thu, 2 Jan 2003 10:24:00 -0800 (PST)From: Bo Smolka To: at-l@mailman.backcountry.netSubject: [at-l] To the Class of 2003...To the Class of 2003 --Each year on Jan. 1 (or, 2nd as it may be this year...), I've submitted this poem to whatever AT list Ihappen to be following at the time.The author is anonymous, and ironically, my boss hadgiven this out at the beginning of a new year as a'motivating' tool to get the employees fired up foranother year. All it did for me, though, was fire meup to leave my job and hike the AT.As you get ready for your adventure this year, youhave both my blessing and my envy. Godspeed ... I havenever in my left felt more alive than I did during my5+ months on the trail...=================DREAM BIGIf ever there were a time to dare,to make a difference,to embark on something worth doing,it is now.Not for some grand cause, necessarily,but for something that tugs at your heartsomething that is your aspirationSomething that's your dreamYou owe it to yourselfto make each day here countHave funDig deepStretchDream big.Know, though, that things worth doingseldom come easy.There will be good daysand there will be bad daysThere will be times whenyou want to turn around,pack it up,call it quits.Those times tell youthat you are pushing yourself,that you are not afraid to learn by trying.Persist.Because with an idea,determination,and the right tools,you can do great things.Let your instincts,your intellectand your heartguide you.Trust.Believe in the incredible powerOf all the things that will cross your paththis year.The start of something newbrings the hope of something great.Anything is possible.There is only one you,and you will only pass this way once.Do it right.====================Victory GallopGA--->ME '98Jan LiteShoe, AT Class of '03
Date: 2003-01-17
To: View Entry
Miles today: 0.0

That's fun, but also a drag.In fact, I'd rather be typing this than submitting to the tortureof All Those Decisions. Procrastination, my achilles heel always.Well, at least I set a date to start walking, and March 1 is roaring down at melike a roller coaster.In a way, this whole process is starting to feel like a "littledeath." I'll be absent from my "everyday life" and that offriends and family for over half a year. I won't exist for them, except as a memory. Their life will go on - without ME. HOW can this BE?(....sob!)I find myself sorting through my things as if I was terminal,which I am (as are we all), as if the future wasuncertain (which it is). I just don't normally hang outin this mental space, is all. We're just not in Kansas anymore, Toto...For example, I came across my will. I mean, my WILL, for cripessake! I'd forgotten I'd done it. Just a simple piece of note paper I jotted when my mother was dying. I read it over again, making sure it still said what I wanted it to say. Probably I should get it to a lawyer friend and make it official. Hmmmm, on the other hand, maybe I should wait and see how "nice"everyone is to me while I'm on the Trail? Before they inherit theirweighty and valuable "four Rubber Maid tubs" full of horseequipment? You know, the ESSENTIAL Stuff?Too much prosperity at once makes folks do funny things, sometimes.I am also sorting through an old mail pile today. Some folks, trulymuch beloved, I haven't written to in years (I wonder if they havee-mail?). They are in my heart though, even if we don't connect on paper.So today, I want to connect; I write to these long-time friends, sending them old photos of theirs I have saved, letters from 18 years ago - when we were kids, mere babies I tell you!. These are the sort of friends you can not see for years, yet when you do - boom! you're right back into the same old easy flow, as if not a day of separation had passed.I am also reading through old love letters. They're in a box Ihaven't looked through for years. Now there's a trip! If I only knew then whatI know now - ha! Still, wouldn't change much about at all about my life and the wayit has unwound, except perhaps the times I was unkind. Definitely, I would do those times differently. I wonder if I should tell them that.I am feeling this freaky urge to make my peace with everyone. I say freaky, because I have seen my Hospice patients do the same thing, before they takeThe Trip of a Lifetime.Well, my trip is not That Big (if I have any say in it, which Iprobably don't). But I have to admit, it is having a similarfunction. I feel very warm toward everyone I meet lately. Very warm. Peacable. Squishy-hearted. I am melting. HEEEEELP me! I'm MELTING...... melting.... mel ...;-)Later, Alligators
Date: 2003-02-01
To: View Entry
Miles today: 0.0

So here I am, behind schedule, the First Day of my Month of Leaving. There is still so much to do! Some of the tasks remaining - packing and sorting, figuring out an itinerary, assembling some maildrops, getting scrips from my out-of-town doctor, learning to work my digital camera and take good pictures, connecting with my maildrop and camera support people, getting the car maintained and re-inspected (dealer is out of town too), getting the pets to the vet for a final checkup, some committments to Hospice and others, getting some last-minute gear - oh, and continuing to walk my "daily five."I realized something yesterday. One aspect of hiking that I treasure so much came into focus. You know how, at home, you can work, work, work and there's STILL something hanging over your head to do? Always? ALWAYS! It nags there in the background like a distant drumbeat (or, not so distant, depending on one's propensity for guilt). I am neverfinished.BUT when I hike, that uncompleted sensation disappears. Less complexity. What needs to get done gets done. Life is simpler.Ahhh.... at the end of the hiking day, the last burden de jour iswhen I lay down my head. Which is as it should be.Maybe because I relax, give myself permission to become present. To stop looking to the future for fulfillment. After all I have had lots of training in looking to the future. "...WHEN I graduate....WHEN I get a job....WHEN I get a mate...WHEN I make a million dollars, etc ...THEN I can relax...." But looking to the future has never made me happy. I mean, there's always ....just more future! What if I just gave myself permission to relax NOW? When I hike I do SOMETHING in my head that lets me relax. What if I just stopped seeking Something in the future? And just exhaled? And looked around...Okay, back to the real world...Procrastinating ShoeJan LiteShoe, AT Class of '03
Date: 2003-02-12
To: View Entry
Miles today: 0.0

Moved most of the furniture into 10x10 storage today, and I think it will all stuff in there. Phew! (Ibuprofen, please). There's still more to come - dishes, desk, clothes - but it looks like this little "closet" will be sufficient. Good thing too, there isn't a storage unit available in all of Southern Pines, with the Ft. Bragg military base nearby, and folks called up.My life's possessions, crammed into a space smaller than a horse stall... I've pruned HARD!Used up all my duct tape too, woe is me.<
Date: 2003-02-14
To: View Entry
Miles today: 0.0

"For me the thing touched bottom when I was gently accused of escapism during a TV interview about a book I'd written on a length-of-California walk. "Frankly, I fail to see how going for a six-month, thousand-mile walk through the deserts and mountains can be judged less real than spending six months working eight hours a day, five days a week, in order to earn enough money to be able to come back to a comfortable home in the evening and sit in front of a TV screen and watch the two-dimensional image of some guy talking about a book he has written on a six-month, thousand-mile walk through the deserts and mountains...."Colin FletcherDirect experience, can't beat it with a stick...
Date: 2003-02-16
To: What Goes On In The Head In The Final Days
Miles today: 0.0

"You know, I am starting to get a familiar feeling. It's coming on stronger every day as things get wedged into storage, as I pack up my life to spend six months on the AT. It is a very insecure, rootless feeling. (I wonder if those of you AT hikers who are leaving a spouse at home to keep the home fires burning have a similar feeling.)But it's deeper than that, and here is something I bet all share but aren't talking about too much. We like to joke about being NUTS, or CRAZY or INSANE before a big hike, but really, what I'm experiencing right now is insecurity, and doubting the wisdom of this venture. All of a sudden, it seems like a foolish thing to do. Not worth doing. I mean, I'm arresting my career. When I return, there will be no familiar place that is "home." My bank account will be severely hit. The sheer effort it has taken to arrange my life to get out there has been overwhelming, at time.Now, doubt is now a familiar friend. I remember feeling this way just before theLong Trail. An honest person SHOULD question themselves. Yet something this momentous and disruptive as a six-month hike doesn't happen on a whim. The impulse runs deep, like a river. When I look back on the Long Trail, I see I wouldn't have missed it for the world. From the moment I shouldered my pack - no, scratch that, I remember a panic thought then - from the moment I set foot on the Trail, my thoughts were focused there.There was surety. Concern dropped away.And so now, with less than two weeks to go, the doubts run through like ticker tape. I am just sitting with them, watching them, letting them run like a movie. Trying not to let my attention get "hooked" by it to the extent I believe in the doubt and let it regulate my actions. To experience doubt is one thing. Natural, to be expected, I remind myself. Tobelieve it and act on it is another. You can only second-guess yourself so much, and then you have to let it go.Sometimes our minds are not our best friends, eh? They get us into this, and then they say "my god, WHAT have you done? Stop before it's too late. Quit and get back into the box." Well, the truth is, it's too late for that. Even if I stayed home, the "damage" to the "box" has already been done. Since there is no turning back now, there is nothing to be done but exhale... plan maildrops...finish packing...tying up 19 million loose ends... Because, on the inner landscape, this is epic. How to turn away from that? There IS no turning back...Jan LiteShoeAT Class of '0312 days..
Date: 2003-02-20
To: The Pressure Builds
Miles today: 0.0

My god! What a stressful week! I can't remember having one so intense in years. I felt the neck muscles crunching down and, helpless to stop it, a splitting headache took shape.First, the weather toyed with my head - ice storms killing our power periodically, once when I was on the middle of logging in my maildrop calculations - aaaaaarrrgh! All the data lost, and not a minute to lose.Then, the sheer fact of the ice itself, locking up the land, hanging from the pines, chilling the air with that bone-seeping grip, mocking me with a "what made you think you can live in this, sweetheart?" glaze.Then, there seems to be so much to do still. Every time I nail down a task, several more seem to rear their ugly heads. There's all those balls to keep up in the air. The To-Do list expands like a post-Christmas waistline.Have I not whined enough? Getting out of this place is still agigantimous task. (It's my journal, and if I want to make up a word, well, I'll just make one up.) I've been going at it for weeks, and tasks keep multiplying.Then, I haven't even assembled my pack and maildrops yet, and there's just six days left with the kitchen, bathroom and bedroom left to packup and loose ends, loose ends sparking everywhere.Then, since the bed is in storage, I have been sleeping on the floor, and that takes a while to adjust to again. So, by mid-day, I'm out of mental gas... Snzzzzzz....Okay Jan, enough navel-gazing, just get right down to it. Why are youREALLY so frazzled and anxious? Probably it's the realization that when I get done with the AT, I won't have a home to come home to and kick back. I'm packing it all up. Cutting the ties. I find myself envying those with a support person who keeps the home fires burning: All they have to do is train, pack maildrops and assemble gear, trot down the AT, then a hearty "hi honey, I'm home..."Alright, I know those who leave mates behind have their own set ofstresses. But my lip is stuck out right now, don't pester me with illusion-busters. I am coming back to Southern Pines, and probably buying a house. But that selection process takes a while - and, at a time when I just wantto put up my feet and exhale, wear comfortable stuff, return to mycareer, I will be rushing around looking at property, talking to banks (after not working over half a year! yeah, right lady....), moving furniture, etc.I guess - light bulb! - it is the feeling of being rootless that I'm reacting to, ultimately. No abidance anywhere... that's unsettling.So when I ran across this quote, it was balm:"There is an intense but simple thrill in setting off in the morning on a mountain trail, knowing that everything you need is on your back. It is a confidence in having left the inessentials behind and of entering a world of natural beauty that has not been violated, wheremoney has no value and possessions are a deadweight. The person withthe fewest possessions is the freest." (Paul Theroux)Yeah! What he said. Six days...<
Date: 2003-02-22
To: "oh! maria"
Miles today: 0.0

Of course everything piles up like a logjam the last week, and of course, all your good friends want to say good-bye then too! And you would MUCH rather hang with them than move furniture or wrap dishes.My local hiking club - name (don't laugh): The Adventure Club (yay!)- gave me a big send-off tonite. A hike was scheduled for today. Of course, I was too crazed to go on that, but it got rained out and we met at the restaurant after, as scheduled.Many dear friends there, including the sassy AT hiker Jean Lyerly (Mean Jean), our fearless leader Andy, his wife Debby (who gave me such an understanding Earth Mother hug my anxieties immediately melted away for the evening), Shelley and Deb, the two Bobs, my paddling buddy Jean, Steve, and my fellow former Cheesehead Nancy.Nancy made sport with me, bestowing a number of parting "gifts." such as designer trash bag rainwear (little does she know, I would use it), lemon drops to disguise the taste of foul water, granola bars so I could have breakfast in bed and such. She then presented a tiny gold "Adventure club angel" to watch over me. Now, I've never been an angel person, but immediately I knew this one, which I promptly named "oh maria!," would be sticking to my backpack.Hang on, "oh maria!" we're going for a little ride... remember Mr.Bill?ohhhhh noooooo.....;-)My friend Laura Gingerich popped in to share a glass of wine and a fewstories. If you remember from my first TJ entry, Laura was the neighbor who, the month after I made my decision to go, I learned was hiking the AT. She and her sons set off in February last year, and summited Katahdin in August.She offered much advice, but the thing I remember the clearest was this: "It's not one journey. They should tell you, it's really THREE journeys - Before, The Hike, and After."And then she smiled: "It's the first and the last ones that are the real challenging ones."Well, "oh maria!" If the first "journey" is any indication, just call a shrink now. Book me a date for, oh, say, October.
Date: 2003-02-24
To: Soleman
Miles today: 0.0

People who share this journey of preparation form very deep bonds.Beyond reason, a group can form into a Trail family very quickly. When one member leaves, or dies, there is a ripping.My '03 Trail mate, Ted Anderson Soleman, died suddenly, less than 48 hours ago. In two days, he would have been leaving for North Georgia, for his AT thru-hike. His death was completely unexpected at 56, and left his hiker friends bereft, in shock.Like a little kid, Ted was so excited to be starting on Springer March 1. It was infectious. A strong trail bond formed early on between Ted, Russ (Hotdog), Teresa (Wench) and me. We were all going to start together, toast our start on Springer, and hike together the first four days. The twisted, bent humor that was Ted's specialty flew thick and fast across the Internet, and in person at the Gathering in West Virginia. But behind the scenes, the conversations were deep and real.I felt very safe on the Trail knowing these three folks were at my back. Not just safe in the physical sense, but supported. Cheered for. Cared about. Now Ted is gone. Just like that. He was going to write a book: "Who Are You Anyway, God?" He wanted to know. This walk was part of that. Conventional religions didn't quite speak to him, yet he kept searching for...something.My heart is sore. I am just sick.If you get a chance, read Ted's journal and leave his wife Roxann a note at www.trailjournals.com/Soleman/ An outpouring of support from hikers and the people who love them would mean something to her. When Ted tried the idea of an AT hike out on her, she didn't freak or pitch a fit - she said "if anybody can do it, you can." Ted often spoke of "his bride," though they had been married many years.Beyond reason, these bonds are formed. I don't plan to post again until I am on the Trail.
Date: 2003-03-05
From: Neel's Gap

To: Florida sun
Miles today: 0.0

These days off the Trail are an orgy of eating. Not because I need it yet, but because I can.... and, because it's there. I shower daily, and use deodorant. The toilets flush. The towels are fluffy.Florida (the judges' seminar) is green, green, green. Also hot and humid, reminding me why I never chose to reside there. The horses we see are splendid and elastic animals, pure equine eye candy.While I was in Florida, Georgia got pounded by flooding rains and severe lightning. I wonder how those on the Trail are feeling.When I touch down in Atlanta, the rivers are still cresting and everything squishes. My friend Ann picks me up and I spend the evening in her lovely European-accented home listening to George Bush pepare for war. The next morning we watch the bird feeder over breakfast and pour over Ann's bird books. We see titmice, goldfinches, a downy woodpecker, Carolina wrens, purple finches, chickadees and all the usual suspects, which delight nonetheless. I cut some lemony daphne and red camellias to take with us - the South is great that way, flowers in the winter. We spend the rest of the day at the show in Conyers.After this show I will be a free woman until the fall, having fulfilled my professional requirements. This couldn't have happened at a nicer time, as I will see winter end in the next month, and a new season roll in.Here in Atlanta, the bulbs are not long from flowering. The forsythia, crabapple and star magnolias are out, and the maple tips are swelling red. Spring is edgy here, anxious to pop. It will be awhile before we see this in the mountains. I expect there will be snow in my near future.
Date: 2003-04-03
From: Tanyard Gap

To: Hot Springs
Miles today: 5.9
Weather: clear sky

Hi All,It's Jan here. I hobbled into Hot Springs yesterday after a near-15-mile day. My heels were killing me, worse as they've ever been. I think it was all the slipping and sliding in the snow from the day before that really stirred up a hornet's nest. Yet after an icing, a soak in the hot mineral springs and a good night's rest, they were ready to go again. I think it's pushing weight uphill that is inflaming the tendons. Anyway, I'll figure it out.Meanwhile, besides eating enormous quantities of gourmet food at Elmer's, I did a little SOBO shuttle today from Taynard gap (where the AT crosses over the highway)with a very light pack, and managed to squeak out six more miles. Tomorrow, I'll try the same from Allen Gap, and another 8 miles. I really don't know how to take any more out of my pack than I have, so I'll just keep trying the shuttle thing for a couple of days.So I guess it's 276 miles and counting...All that said, though the AT is pushing me to my physical limits almost daily, I am really very happy out here. I'm not exactly sure why... but, there it is.Also, got my new pocketmail today, so should be back online soon. Erwin, TN is 60-some miles away, so that's the next place I am heading.Check back here soon for updates. Thanks for following along, I really appreciate your support, cards, treat and good wishes. They bouy me along in those tough times. I feel connected.Hugs,Jan