morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2008-04-22
From: Spivey Gap

To: Erwin, TN
Miles today: 11.0
Weather: overcast clouds

I told Willow this morning as we had breakfast that I was thinking about getting off the trail in Erwin to reconnect with my family. I had originally planned to go another eight days or so to Damascus, but saw that nearby Johnson City had a Greyhound station and I could save my wife the long car trip back and forth and the high cost of gas that is hovering close to $3.60 a gallon. Willow said she wasn¢t surprised at all by my decision and wondered how I had lasted this long without a family fix. The eleven mile hike to town was very pretty in spots and certainly a little strange for me as I pondered if this would be my last day on the trail for quite awhile. When I got to Erwin I would have hiked about 340 trail miles, have finished both sides of four maps, and have explored in some of the most challenging and picturesque places in the south, including the Chattahoochee National Forest in Georgia, the Nantahala National Forest in North Carolina, the wonderful Great Smokey Mountains National Park, where the trail is the border between North Carolina and Tennessee, and the Pisgah and Cherokee National Forests on the way to Hot Springs and Erwin. I still find it hard to believe that I got my legs and lungs to carry me to so many amazing places. God has certainly made more places to explore than anyone can experience in one lifetime ¢ I¢m most thankful for all the wonderful things He has allowed me to see up to this point in my life.   We had some nice views of Erwin and the Nolichucky River as we descended into town, and stopped at Uncle Johnnys Hostel to pick up Willow¢s resupply boxes. We got a room at the the Holiday Inn Express, but were disappointed to find that they had stopped their policy of giving each hiker a free pint of Ben & Jerry¢s ice cream. We had a late dinner at the A &W/Long John Silvers complex next store, and had much needed showers and a lot of laundry to wash later.
Date: 2008-05-17
To: View Entry
Miles today: 0.0

What a special weekend. My middle daughter, Tess, graduated Summa Cum Laude with her B.A. in Psychology from Loyola College in Maryland. She was also inducted into a host of honor societies, such as Alpha Kappa Delta (The International Sociological Honor Society), Alpha Sigma Nu (The National Jesuit Honor Society), Phi Betta Kappa (highest national honor society), and Psi Chi (The National Honor Society in Psychology). Thanks God she gets both her good looks and excellent mind from her mother! And having all my girls together for the weekend was terrific - I didn't want the time to end. I think the picture tells it all. This group will always be my number one priority in life.I've only been to the local woods for one day hike since getting off the trail. It's funny how quickly the real world quickly devours all your time again. I did run into a new critter. As I made my way on the Mt. Loop Trail in my local state park, one stick ahead of me on the path had a triangular head attached. I instantly thought pit viper, but the coloration was wrong for a copperhead and it had no rattles on the tail. I got a long stick to give it poke to get it off the trail, and it puffed up its neck and made a hissing sound like a mini king cobra. Turns out it was a hog nose snake and that is its defense mechanism. God always seems to provide me with a private viewing of something neat whenever I go in the woods. I got a postcard from Willow this week - she and Longwaythru have now gone over 500 miles. Sounds like I am missing some great trail and sights in Virginia. I hope to get out again this summer for a week or two to join them again. These two are destined for Maine. I have dreams about the trail each night - I can't imagine what it will be like for those who go out for six months. Looking forward to seeing my trail friends again.
Date: 2008-06-22
To: My house
Miles today: 0.0

I finally got to do a little trail magic on Sunday. I got a text from Lotus and Thinker that they would be in Port Clinton, PA. about noon, which is an hour south of my house. The problem was I was in the the Philly area visiting my Mom in the hospital. Thank goodness for GPS on my phone - gave me a an alternate route to swing home by driving through Reading and swinging north up Rt. 61. Picked Lotus and Thinker up at 5:00pm at the the peanut store, had them to my house in an hour, and my wife Rebecca started cooking some veggie chilli for Lotus. After having him rummage through my hiker box of food, I took Thinker to the local food mart to finish off his food resupply, and then we had a nice dinner on the patio while catching me up on hiker news. After a few libations , a shower, and peanut ripple icecream, they were more than ready to crash for the night. They wanted to get up early to head back to the trail, so after an eggs, bagel, and fruit breakfast I got them back to Port Clinton and the Post Office so Lotus could pick up her mail drop. It was hard leaving them - I wish I had a couple of free days to hike with them, but family life is keeping me very busy right now. I hope some more of my hiker friends give me a jingle as they pass through PA so I can play trail angel. On a side note, my youngest daughter, Elizabeth, who plays field hockey at UNC, will be at the White House Tuesday to meet President Bush. Their team is being honored for winning the national championship this year. Life is certainly good.
Date: 2008-07-01
From: My house

To: View Entry
Miles today: 0.0

Great to have another visit from a hiker friend. I picked up Southpaw yesterday where Route 309 crosses Blue Mountain and brought him to my house. We spent a leisurely afternoon and evening talking about the trail and the weeks we hiked together and everything else under the sun. And of course eating, and libations, and more eating. He looks great and is going strong, and I'm sure he will be one of the determined ones who makes it to Katadin. I got him back on the trail early this morning. I wish I had a few days to escort him over the pointy rocks of my home state. I hope we get to hike together again in the future.
Date: 2008-07-08
From: My house

To: View Entry
Miles today: 0.0

A pleasure to have two more very important trail guests to my house - Willow and Longwaytru. Willow and I first met at the train station in Atlanta while waiting to get picked up by the folks at the AT Hiker Hostel. We both started from Springer Mountain on March 15th, and after ending at the same spot every night night during the first week, started to hike together after that. What pleasent company - always a smile and never a complaint. When we later hooked up with Southpaw at the NOC, we had our own little grey-haired mule train for the next few weeks, never the fastest by very steady. We met Longwaytru for the first time at the Hike Inn at Fontanna Dam, and enjoyed her company at various times on and off during the next few weeks. They teamed up when I got off the trail in Erwin, and have been together ever since. Though I think they will both make Katahdin, I'm a little concerned about Willow's health. Though still enthusiastic, she seemed very physically run down and has had trouble eating. Hopefully the rest and food at my house made a difference. I really miss the trail and the fine people I have met along the way. I hope to do another long section next summer, but it won't be the same without this wonderful carde of hikers I have gotten to know.
Date: 2008-05-01
From: Amicalola Falls State Park

To: Springer Mtn. Shelter
Miles today: 9.0
Weather: scattered clouds

At the side of the Greyhound in Gainesville, GA, I was collecting my baggage when I noticed a nice Osprey pack. The owner is George, "Bear Bait." He's taking a 30-day leave from work in Wisconsin and is trying to go as far as possible in that time. Reckons he'll make it to Hot Springs.We split cab fare to Amicolola State Park and start from the Visitor's Center.Pack Weight: 22 lbs gear, 20 lbs food.I brought way too much food.At this point I realize that I still have my black backpack which was my carry-on for the bus ride. I ask the folks at the info desk if I can mail it home, and they said the first mail spot will be Neels Gap, 40 miles out. Oh well. I strapped the bag to my pack and headed out.Pack Weight: 22 lbs gear, 20 lbs food, 10 lbs crap.I made it to the top of Springer Mountain where I met up with Scott. We met Scott earlier at the visitor's center. He has a little less time and hopes to reach Fontana Dam before going back home.The shelter is "only a few yards north" of the summit. Here, we met "Gums," a more experienced hiker. His first thru-hike was in 1970 and at this point he's jumping from place to place, staying a few nights and moving on. What a character.Ed is also at this shelter. He was an Army Ranger, and carries an army ruck sack with some fairly heavy equipment. I'm not sure where he plans to go, but he moves fast.A little later, some girl and guy come by and decide to tent rather than stay in the shelter. Two girls arrive an hour later, and tent also and we never heard from them again. I guess that'll happen here and there.The beans I packed are awful. First thing when I get to a town: Ditch the beans. They're heavy and taste like tree bark.
Date: 2008-05-02
From: Springer Mtn. Shelter

To: Gooch Mtn. Shelter
Miles today: 14.7
Weather: overcast clouds

Woke up at sunrise, ate cream of wheat for breakfast, said goodbye, and headed out.Near the next shelter I ran into Sky and some other girl whose name I forgot. They're from Florida State U, out here for a week before they have to get back to the real world. They plan to hit Blood Mtn in 2 days then head back.A while later I decided to take a bread on the side of the trail for a Nutella burrito. Rewind passed me here. He said he's going to stop at Gooch Mtn for a 15-mile day. I planned to truck it to Suches for a hopeful mail drop, at 20 miles, but I go along with him.At Horse Gap we came across a group of 4 hikers who look about my age. One was wearing an IUP tshirt, so I ask them where they're from (of course) and they say Pittsburgh (of course). One graduated from Pitt last week and the other three are from IUP.This is their first backpacking trip. They plan to stay out for 30 days, regardless of distance. They seem to be off to a good start, albeit their packs are monstrously heavy. Neels Gap will straighten them out.I trudged on, and passed Rewind again. We hiked back and forth toward Justis Creek, where we saw two guys sleeping on the creekside. It's a really nice, quiet spot, perfect for a rest with 1.5 miles to Gooch Mtn.The Pittsburgh group caught up to us here, along with Ed. Ed decided to sleep there for the night, while Rewind went ahead and I stayed with the pgh group. After a few minutes we saddled up for the last stretch.At Gooch Mtn we met an older fellow with something of an English accent. He came up from Hawk Mtn Shelter today, where he stayed the night before with the two from Justis and the Pgh group. The group walked right by the shelter without saying anything and set up tents. Soon I found out why.This guy will not shut up. He asked me where I plan to go, and I tell him Katahdin by mid August. Without a pause, he says very bluntly that I won't make it. He's been section-hiking 20 to 70 miles at a time for 5 years and says he probably won't do the whole trail. He showed off all his gear, along with their weights and prices. Among these is a 3-oz stove, $25, a 1.5-lb tent, $326, and a 2.5"-thick mattress pad. He's crazy about lightweight gear, but carries a box of cigars, a book, and a 2-lb sleeping pad. He goes on to tell me to ditch my tent stakes and blah blah blah...I left him (alone in the shelter) and set up my tent with the other guys. We cooked dinner and chatted for a while. One of these guys graduated 2 years ago with a degree in CS from IUP. Turns out he knows Eric "Penny," who I work with at USS.To-do at Neels Gap:Mail: bag, pent stakes, leatherman.Get: Trekking poles, nail clippers, squeeze tubes, shoelaces.
Date: 2008-05-03
From: Gooch Mtn. Shelter

To: Neels Gap
Miles today: 15.6
Weather: overcast clouds

The guys from Justis stayed at Gooch Mtn last night as well, and this morning their rooster alarm clock went off at 6:30, which was nice because we were able to get on the trail by 7:30. Danielle had a lot of weight in extra food, so I took poptarts.The hiking today was more or less a blur. It was overcast and rainy most of the day, which made for perfect hiking weather. Scott and I made great time to Blood Mtn Shelter by 3:30pm, where we met Ulysses. I took a short break, wrote in the shelter log book, and headed down to Neels Gap. Neels is a comfortable place with a hostel and outfitter. I mailed home everything I needed to mail home, and picked up trekking poles, $36 underwear, and Ben and Jerry's Half-Baked.At the hostel, there are five guys hiking for a few days as a bachelors party. Also I met Lou and his daughter Abby (from Florida Southern U). The ten of us (Ulysses makes 10) played Trivial Pursuit (circa 1984) for a few hours, while the bachelor party crew downed a few bottles of whiskey and violate Rule VI of the Hostel Rules: "One drunk is annoying, many drunks are downright irritating so we ask that you not over-indulge in libation on the property."
Date: 2008-05-04
From: Neels Gap

To: Unicoi Gap
Miles today: 20.0
Weather: few clouds

At the hostel, I couldn't count on the sun to wake me up at 6am, so I had to set the cell phone alarm the night before. However I had an early 5:45 wakeup due to all the water I drank the night before.Hiking went pretty well today. I met more people on the trail than usual, but still hiked alone. There's a group from Mass. out here somewhere, and 5 or 6 groups of day hikers. At 4:45 I made it to Blue Mtn. Shelter, chatted for a few minutes with some guy from California, and started the descent to Unicoi Gap. From the gap I hitched a ride to Helen, GA.Helen is a tourist trap through and through. It's decorated like an alpine village, but it's very southern in its hospitality. Horsedrawn carriages are driven by the locals with mullets and NASCAR hats. I went to "Altst¤dter Weinstue und Biergarten" where the special of the day was "BBQ Snitzel Pizza." There are two motels and "The Christmas Shoppe" within eyesight. Feel free to name at least three things wrong with this picture.The waitress kept pushing beer at me. It's definitely not what I need after hiking, and I feel a little dehydrated.This place is creeping me out."Das Firehopf" burned down (ironic?) a few years ago. Apparently, that was where the good food was.
Date: 2008-05-05
From: Unicoi Gap

To: Dicks Creek Gap
Miles today: 16.1
Weather: clear sky

Getting out of Helen last night wasn't difficult, but it took more time than I planned. I got back to Unicoi Gap at 8:30 when it was getting dark, so I had to find a place to set up camp QUICK. The nearest marked campsite was 2.7 miles north, so I decided that was too far. I hiked until I found the first reasonable spot that could fit the tent. About 300ft up, I found a dry drainage ditch, and there was no rain in the forecast so I made it camp. There had been multiple bear sightings in the past few days, including one cub, so I took a few precautions. This means I hung my entire pack up a tree along with all my clothes except my underwear. As I was setting up the tent, I heard a loud rustle in the forest not even 50 yds ahead. It stopped and let out a howl like a coyote. So I yelled at it for a few minutes until it turned away. I didn't sleep very well that night.A few hours later I heard the same howl followed by howls from other hillsides. Either they left, or I fell asleep, but the next thing I remember is waking up to a gorgeous sunrise. I was in my underwear and it was very cold. I packed up and headed out ASAP.At the 2.7-mile campsite I stopped for breakfast. The rest of the day was easy trails, nice and flat, except for the monsterous Kelly Knob. By 4pm I was at Deep Gap Shelter.At Deep Gap I planned to write in the log book and change my socks, but instead I ended up talking to some guy about Georgia for an hour. The original plan was to hit Plumorchard Shelter tonight, but instead I booked it to Dicks Creek Gap, hitched a ride to Cloud 9 Hostel, and lived in luxury. There's a jacuzzi, satellite TV, Internet access, a full kitchen, extensive blister care, and $10 treehouse renter, all-inclusive. The folks here are really awesome.Paul twisted his ankle and has been here for a week. He'll have to go home. Jamal, "Snake Grabber" is hiking with his dog Nova. He started off with two space blankets and a bag of beef jerky. Neels Gap straightened him out. Rick is my age and started at Springer on May 1st, getting to Unicoi today. There are also two girls, Julie and Beth, also headed northbound.Jamal once pulled a snake out of a tree, killed it, cooked it, and killed it. That's about as manly as it gets.
Date: 2008-03-10
To: Home
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: broken clouds

Oooh! My first entry! So exciting!Today is March 10 - only another 20 days till I hit the trail. I can't believe that it's almost time already...I'm pulling together all my last minute gear and prepping everything that I can.I've got 4 days left at work, and then a week and a half to finish getting everything ready to go. I feel like I have almost everything, but I'm sure when I get out there, I'll only have half of what I need, and a bunch of stuff I really don't. No matter how many times I go backpacking, somehow that always seems to be the case. Why is that? I'm excited about going - this has been a dream of mine for a long time. This journal is primarily for my friends and family to keep track of me as I attempt my through hike - thanks for all the support! Special thanks to my wife for helping to support my dream and encouraging me to do this crazy adventure. To all you strangers out there whom I haven't met yet - thanks for taking the time to read the journal - I hope you find my posts entertaining, maybe I'll meet you out there on the journey.
Date: 2008-03-11
To: View Entry
Miles today: 0.0

Getting ready!Okay, so I thought i would write about what I've done to get ready for the hike as my second journal entry. (This will be pretty short.)Usually, I run to keep in shape, but with deadlines at work and cold weather outside (I don't like running in the cold), I slacked off in my running. I did join the YMCA, and I've been swimming 3 mornings a week before work. I only do a mile at a time, but I figure that it will help with cardio. I've just recently started jogging again (nice and slowly) and I plan on keeping that light until I leave. No sense in injuring myself just before I head out (usually, if I hurt myself, it's doing something safe... like jogging...)To get ready for the trip, I've also started doing some hiking on the local trails. I've loaded up my backpack to 40 lbs (a layered mix of dumbell weights and whatever soft and fluffy things I can find lying around to put between them....) and I have headed off to traverse the trails at Patapsco state park or hit the Wincopin trails at Savage Park. I hope my pack will weigh in at less than 40lbs, but if not, I guess I'll be ready! Last weekend I logged an eight mile loop, and next weekend I'm shooting for at least a 10 miler. Hopefully I can get out to the AT, and climb up Weaverton cliff, or maybe do the hills at the MD Heights trail at Harpers Ferry. I still have a week and a half off of work before I go, so I'll get some extra hiking time in before I head out.That's just about it. I'll let you know in my journal how this worked out as far as physical prep goes.
Date: 2008-03-16
To: View Entry
Miles today: 0.0

A lot of people ask me what I'm going to do for food while I'm hiking. So I thought I would take this journal entry to talk about what I'm planning to do for food.A lot of people spend a lot of time and effort to plan menus and cook a ton of food and then dehydrate it and arrange for their support team to ship it to them later on down the trail. This is NOT what I am doing. While I like the idea of not having to shop for food, this seems like a lot of work. I'm lazy, so while this works for many, I don't think it will work for me. Plus, I have no idea what I will be hungry for on the trail. I want to have options.That being said, I am going to forage along the way. And by "forage", I mean that I will go to stores and "forage" there. I won't be eating things I pick up along the trail. I like twigs and random berries, but I find them much more enjoyable when I am not eating them.For those unfamiliar with the AT, and it's proximity to civilization - I should have the opportunity to get off the trail and to a store every 4-6 days, sometimes less, sometimes more. Because the trail cuts through some of the most densely populated states, it's not hard to find what you need along the way.So that is my plan. I got some good cookbooks - Freezer Bag Cooking and Lipsmakin Backpackin to get some ideas from. I've also been collecting recipies out of backpacker magazine for a while, so I should be able to cobble together something decent to eat on most nights. And if not, there are always pop-tarts.
Date: 2008-03-20
To: View Entry
Miles today: 0.0

I'm still at home, but I'm playing with Trailjournals to see how to upload photos. I just tried to upload one of my dog. Why my dog? Well, I have lots of pictures of her, and not so many of me hiking on the AT. So, I figured if I go "off-topic" (topic = AT hike) I might as well go _way_ off topic.I also thought I would let people know how I'm going to update my journal while out in the middle of the woods. I got a little device called "pocketmail". For those of you who already have one, or have been reading trailjournals for a while, you know all about it. For everyone else - it's a little hand held device whose sole purpose is to let me write and read email. I can type away to my heart's content, and save all the emails, and when I get to a phone, I can set it up to send them out by a built-in modem. So far, I've been playing with it, and it's been a lot of fun. No problems. I decided to do that over a crackberry or sidekick, since those need rechargers, and I didn't want to have to hassle with that - I'll need to do that with my cell phone already, so one rechargable item is enough.... the pocketmail runs on AA batteries.... so when they die, I can easily replace them.anyway, so I'll write my journal as an email, and then send it to my wife. She can then cut and paste it out of the email into here, and Viola! you guys will get to read the results. I'll be taking lots of pictures too, but I don't know how often those will be updated, since I can't email them from pocketmail. Those will come along when I have time to either send them by a real computer or by some other magical means when i get to a town or hostel. I'll have to figure that out as i go along.One more week till I leave for Georgia! I suppose i should start packing up my gear to make sure it all fits in my pack. That might be a good thing to check.But I'll save that future adventure for another journal posting....