morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2012-11-29
To: Thoughts
Miles today: 0.0

Thoughts....    We left the comforts of home to embark on a journey we had only dreamed of. Having made our plans and purchased everything we thought we needed we headed out. Over the next five months the Trail gave us all we had hoped for and more. The people we met were as wonderful as the views we saw. Each day had it's own memories. The bodies went through a transformation to strong and lean and then to skin and bones. As hard as the trail was on the body the real challenge was inside our heads. The Trail is much longer than it seems on paper and finding a reason to keep putting yourself through it every day is the secret to making it all the way to Katahdin. Don't get us wrong, we loved the Trail but it will let you know what you are made of.    Back in the real world life goes on. Sometimes we look at each other and say did we really do that, walk from Georgia to Maine? It seems like a dream. While we were on the trail we couldn't understand why anyone would do it more than one time. Once it's over and you have time to heal your mind keeps taking you back to the trail, almost daring you to return. Life on the trail suits us much better than real life. It has a slow rhythm you feel deep inside. We know we will never be the same because the trail has shown us how life should be.We are back in Sarasota Florida for now. We will see where the future leads us.
Date: 2011-10-20
From: Woody Gap

To: Neels Gap
Miles today: 10.6
Weather: overcast clouds

Great 3rd day. Still nasty weather. Headed up Blood with snow/ice/rain. No view at all but very cool up there. Hikes down to the hostile and spent the night at Neels Gap with a great group of hikers. Davids feet were shot. more to come for this journal entry
Date: 2012-04-23
From: Franklin NC

To: Wayah Shelter
Miles today: 11.0
Weather: scattered clouds

Spent the night at Sapphire Inn in Franklin last night. Got in late from my trip from Charlotte. I was real excited about my second section hike but a "bit" concerned that I would meet good people. Well I was wrong. I caught the shuttle up to Winding Stair Gap and met a few guys riding up. 2 were heading to a different location and the other fella Rob was getting off at WSG. Rob and I exchanged our names and where we were from and decided to hike together. It was a good start but it was a bit cold with snow flurries! At the junction of Siler Bald we split because I wanted to climb the bald since the weather was clearing but very very windy. I got on the top of the bald in 10 easy minutes. I spent just 10-15 minutes enjoying the spectacular views then headed down due to the cold/snowy weather, I caught up to Rob and continued our hike to the top of Wayah Bald. The temp warmed up a good bit and the views were also spectacular in all directions. It was really neat to see where we all came from looking at the huge Standian Indian and Albert Mts. I was really excited that I had 2 fantastic views from these beautiful mountain tops in just the first day. We both got to the Wayah Shelter and decided to set up our tents. I prefer to sleep in my tent but I also felt I wasdoing the other folks a favor by staying in my tent due to my snooring. As time went on many people showed up at the shelter but most decided to also tent ilo the shelter. I met a bunch of good people including Amish from ME, EVA from VT (pronouced evva), Skirt from CA, Pappatatts and Young Blue Eyes from NH, Tin Tin from MI and another very quit young fella from Atlanta. We had a great night eating and hanging around the fire just shooting the shit and getting to know each others stories a bit. Since it was getting cold, we all hit the sack around 9. A great first day back on the AT!!
Date: 2012-04-24
From: Wayah Shelter

To: NOC
Miles today: 16.3
Weather: broken clouds

Woke up to a great sunrise to the right of the shelter. It was pretty cold with some snow flurries. I have to admit, I was not expecting snow at all but I was prepared. After a few cups of hot coffee and freezed dried eggs I broke camp and was on my way since I figured I would start out on my own. Some headed out earlier than I but most hung out for a bit more just moving slowly due to the cold. I must say, since i was fresh and gung ho I could understand the others slow start since they were all thru hikers and have already been on the trail 10-12 days already. Rob got off a bit earlier than I but I managed to catch up with him. We hiked together again up until Cold Spring Shelter where I decided to make some hot ramon to warm up. Rob joined in because it seemed lie ka good idea. Rob was a good fella and enjoyed my many conversarions with him. He is originally from Mass but has pretty much lived in many other areas. He currently resides in Omeha NE. It was still very chilly when we both left the shelter but the sun was out and views of the beautiful NC Mts were waiting. The day gave us great views along the way including the beautiful Rocky Bald. Eventually, others caught up and we all enjoyed the views together and got to know each other more. I must say I was very impressed with Eva. She is a young cute "bull" with a great personality. Skirt was a funny young man from CA with a very witty personality and Tin Tin was a bit more to himself but was also friendly. By the time we all reached Wesser Bald I decided to hike down to the NOC ILO staying at the Wesser Shelter. I said my goodbyes to Rob because he was going to spend the night at the shelter and hitch out of teh NOC the following day. Rod sectioned hike from Springer to the NOC. Eva called ahead to the NOC to lock in on 4 bunks for $16 each. It required a longer day of us to get there including the tough 3700 ft drop down in elevation off Wesser Bald but the thought of real food and a warm bunk was appealing. We made it to the NOC at 6:15 and found out the River View Rest closes at 7 so we all grabbed a table and munched out and drank beers. It was skirts 26th bday so it turned out to be a celebration of both our great day and his birthday. It was also good that we booked ahead for the bunks because the NOC sold out. After 4-5 beers and a 16 inch pizza (no problem putting that down) I was feeling goooooood!. Went to the bunk house took a hot shower and went to sleep. A great 2nd day!!!
Date: 2012-04-25
From: NOC

To: Sassafras Gap
Miles today: 7.0
Weather: scattered clouds

After a rainy night in the NOC (Nantahala Outdoor Center) bunk house I took a walk over to the River View for some "real" coffee and pancakes. Hit the local outfitter store to buy some new socks because my others were shot and my good friend Mark (ex Marine) told me before I went on my first trip that the feet are the most important part of the body so baby those suckers!! He was right because my feet did real well on my first long trip and so far so good this trip. I met up with the others afterwards and experienced a "pack check" for EVA. She was carying way too much weight and we got rid of 6 lbs of stuff including about 20 misc bags. She was then treated to a new trail name "Bag lady". Anyway, we started late, which I intended to do anyway so I can hang around this beautiful place for teh morning. The NOC is a special place with a beautiful river flowing through it. The Nantahala River is controlled from the Fontana Dam up river at the most southern part of the Great Smokys Mtns. We all headed up the LONG UPHILL to the Shelter around 1 pm. I did see Rob down there as he was waiting to hich a ride out to Asheville to get home. Rob was a good fella. The day was fantastic with beautiful views of the gorge from the "jump up". It started getting cloudy and as we were getting to the shelter it started raining. I spent the night at the shelter with about 15 other people and had a blast. Did my typical freezed dried food and ramon with about 2 liters of fresh spring water. Nothing like going to bed with a full warm belly. Yes the snooring was bad but no mice!!!
Date: 2012-04-26
From: Sassafras Gap

To: Cable Gap Shelter
Miles today: 15.1
Weather: light rain

Well this day was special. Very Special! We all woke to rain. A lot of rain. I made breakfast and was packed up ready to go by 8 but was delayed for at least 2 hours from pounding rain, wind, hail and poor visabilty. I was headed up to the beautiful Cheoah Bald which has great views so I was hoping it would clear up. I also had a long day ahead of me because I wanted Friday to be a short day to enjoy the Fontana Dam area and get home at agood time. As soon as the rain stopped I headed out with Amish. The others waited a bit longer. Amish was a very cool dude! He is from Portland Maine and worked as a Lobster Fisherman. He also is a thru hiker and uses a hammock to sleep in every night. Amish also had it down with his outdoor cooking skills and ate very well. We both made it up to the Bald and BINGO it was clear and the view was fantastic!!!! I wish I was able to spend the night up there because there were some great tent spots with a fire pit. Unfortunatly the weather did not cooperate. After about 30 minutes on the top of Cheoah Bald we headed down and the clouds came in again. It was a long day of hiking in and out of rain and no more views. I stopped off at the Brown Fork Shelter and made some ramon to warm up and get my energy for the other 6 miles to the next shelter. Met a young couple there that was just packing up to leave. Made it to Cable Gap Shelter around 6ish set up my tent just in time for another rain storm. Had some dinner and went to bed early because I was tired and the shelter was an older style shelter with very little room to hang out. The young couple I met was staying in the shelter. They just got married a few months ago and they were thru hiking the AT together. Their trail names were Duckie and Hunny Bunny..... Skirt,tin tin ,Eva, chainsaw, amish and a few others were also camping at the shelter. The moods were a bit more down due to the crappy weather but at the end of the day it was a good day!
Date: 2012-04-27
From: Cable Gap Shelter

To: Fontana Dam Visitor Center
Miles today: 7.0
Weather: scattered clouds

Not a good night! Rained just about all night. My tent stayed dry but my sleeping mattress sprung a leak somehow. It was a slow leak and had to blow it up a few times in the middle of the night. Everything, I mean everything was damp. My tent weighed an additional 3 lbs (at least felt that way) As teh week was going on my pack was getting lighter because my food supply was going down but with everything wet my pack was heavier than the first day. It was very foggy in the morning but I had a feeling it was going to clear and it did. We all got on the trail around 8:30 and headed to Fontan. It was a beautiful hike in and the rain brought out the colors and the birds. It was very cool! I found a nice spring about 2 miles into the hike and decided to take a break and soak my feet in the cold stream. It felt so good. I ended up catching up to everyone else and ended our hike together at the Fontan Hilton and the dam. It was a bitter sweet ending of the trail because the people I met along the trail were all fun and they were headed to Maine and I was headed home. Since I had my truck parked at the visitor center I offered the other hiker friends a ride to the Fontana Village to get lunch and resupply for the Smokys. We all had lunch at the Wildwood Grill and took a group snapshot. I had a hamburger, fries and a cold beer. Oh it was so good!!! I took them to resupply and dropped them off at the Fontana Hilton and said out goodbyes. I'll miss those people and I wish them all the luck getting to Maine. I am sincerely rooting for all of them. It is a wonderful lifetime challenge to hike the entire trail and I hope they keep their head in the game and focus on the prize! Katahdin..... Until next time which hopefully in October I will get back on the AT and do the Great Smoky portion which will be about 75 miles or so. It was a good drive home and I was looking forward to seeing my great family and my supporting wife Nancy who I love dearly for understaning my desires for the great outdoors. See you in October AT......
Date: 2012-10-04
From: Fontana Hilton

To: Mollies Ridge Shelter
Miles today: 11.0
Weather: clear sky

Back on the trail again for the Great Smoky Ridge line hike along the AT. This trip includes my very good friend DT and his niece Whitney. We drove from Charlotte to Standing Bear at the North end of the park so Curtis could shuttle all o us to the start. Curtis is a very interesting ex Marine who runs the hostile. The trip was about 2 hours and had many interesting conversations. We got to Fontana around 3ish. We weren't hiking that day and decided to spend the night at the infamous Fontana Hilton on the lake. The Fontana Hilton is the only trail shelter that actually has access to bathrooms and warm showers. I didn't take advantage of the showers. A few hikers showed up and ended up having a pretty populated shelter. A few showed late which kinda pissed us all off since they made a shit load of noise. Come on folks, if your going to show up late be considerate to others. Woke up and headed up to Mollies Ridge Shelter. DT started sooner than Whit and I because he didn't really want to slow us down. DT were a heart rate monitor and needed to stop often. It was a cloudy morning but soon enough we were above the clouds and the day was beautiful. We had terrific views from the Hucktack tower eating our lunch. We made it to the TN/NC junction. "Welcome to TN" and hiked over to the shelter. While we were setting up t the shelter and making dinner 5 trail runners showed up. They were actually jogging the AT from Newfound Gap to Fontana. They were spending 2 nights on the trail with very limited supplies. We all sat round the camp fire chatted and eventually off to bed.
Date: 2012-10-05
From: Mollies Ridge Shelter

To: Derrick Knob Shelter
Miles today: 11.7
Weather: clear sky

Woke up to a very nice morning however the days weather got worse along the day. I was really jacked up and ready to go over some beautiful landscape but the clouds came in and dampened our potential beautiful views on Rocky Top, Spence Field and Thunderhead. Although the views were non existent the hike was beautiful walking along the ridge over some beautiful places. We all did well and had my trail legs kicking in strong. Whitney was amazingly strong with a lot of enthusiasm. DT did well, however, he had to take many breaks. Made it to a pretty full shelter. Met a number of hikers from all over the place. Had excellent conversations. That night I was being nudged by the person next to me to stop snoring but it wasn't me as it was the fella next to me. Tough night of sleeping with all those people in the shelter.
Date: 2012-10-06
From: Derrick Knob Shelter

To: Mt Collins Shelter
Miles today: 13.5
Weather: overcast clouds

Woke up jacked to go to the highest point on the AT Clingmans Dome!!! Ooooppppss. We are in the Smokies and the weather sucks. Rain...... Ugh. After our morning ritual of making breakfast, coffee, doing our deeds and packing up we were off. Rain, wind, fog and everything else. Pretty depressing. The trail was magnificent however with beautiful stands of pines and other trees. The smell of Christmas Trees along the entire trail at this point was awesome. although the rclouds dampened the views it brought out the smells of the forest. As we were approaching the Dome the blowdowns along the trail was an incredible sight to see. huge trees blown over and taking everything with it in it way and under it. We made it to Clingmans and the weather was just awful. Went to the tower with winds howling, took a quick picture and off to Mt Collins Shelter. It was cold, dap and just miserable. We all made it to the Shelter and met up with a fella who we met last night who was thru hiking the AT. Nice guy and already had a fire going in the shelter. It Actually started to clear up a bit but low and behold the weather came back miserable for the night. After dinner we all hit the sack. Tried to keep the fire going strong but the wood was so wet it was tough to do so.
Date: 2012-10-07
From: Mt Collins Shelter

To: Pecks Corner Shelter
Miles today: 14.9
Weather: overcast clouds

Fucking weather! From Mt Collins through Newfound Gap past the beautiful Charlie's Bunnion just shitty weather. Actually considered dropping down into Gatlinburg for the night. DT and I were good to go for a cold beer and a cheap dinner and night but Whitney wanted to keep going. "Kids"!!!!! We decided to trudge on at the gap and hit the beautiful Charlie's Bunion with o views at all it did eventually start to clear a bit but overall a beautiful hi,e along a cloudy, partly rainy cool day. I must say although the weather sucked for the pat 3 days I was still enjoying the trail immensely. The landscape was awesome and I promised my self too back when the weather was better to see what I missed. We made it to a full shelter, however, since we had our reservations we had our space. Hoping for a better day tomorrow we hit the sack.
Date: 2011-03-20
To: It Begins
Miles today: 0.0

Title: So It BeginsHello and welcome to my AT journal. We are glad you arrived here, my journal and I. This notebook, as all are, is just a bunch of meaningful symbols reflecting something approximating what I am experiencing inside my brain. And, of course, what exists inside my head is a weak reflection of the real thing, which only exists out there. At least that is what Kant would say. Wittgenstein would say, ¢Was sich 14berhaupt sagen l¤sst, l¤sst sich klar sagen; und wovon man nicht reden kann, dar14ber muss man schweigen.¢ But, who really understands him? So, you are getting reality third hand. For now my name is Todd. I¢ll become someone else later. I expect a trail name will emerge at the appropriate time. This can happen in any number of ways, a topic that will be explored more fully as we move forward and closer to the beginning. I will be 50 when I walk, am currently an educator working for the US government in England, and spent a very full and enriching 20-year career as a naval officer. I have no singular reason to explain why I am doing this walk. There are many. My motivation is some delicious goulash of those. I don¢t speak German.Today is the 20th of March 2011, exactly 1 year before I will be stepping off from Springer Mountain, Georgia. March 20th 2012 contains the vernal equinox within it (at 0514 GMT). I chose this date to honor my lovely, supportive, peaceful, and vaguely Earth Mother-y wife, Carol. Her tolerance, grace and willingness to let me follow this path humble me.I will be writing 11 more posts over the next year - one per month leading up to step #1. Then, when on the trail, I will be scribing as often as I have something to say. My topics over the next months will be wide ranging. In rough order, I¢ll be covering: Motivation, Reasons to Fail, Trail Names, Gear, Food & Water, Mileage & Training, Raincheck, Love the Fun-Embrace the Suck, The Katahdin Tractor Beam, and Final Thoughts. Could be more. May be fewer.For now the anticipation is becoming palpable. Before, it was a notion, a dream birthed when I was a teenager. Here, a year out, the whole thing is becoming more solid. And with solidity comes angst, but only a little. It¢ll be quite a trip. I hope you join me on these pages. Be well.Todd
Date: 2012-01-05
To: My Gear List
Miles today: 0.0

Hard to believe it is only 55 days until the big step-off. I'm psyched. The Jolly Old Elf was good to me this year, and I believe he has gotten me to the 99% solution for my pack-out. The bottom line is that I will be carrying what I figure to be 27.2 lbs on my back, food and water included. This'll vary depending on # days food I am carrying etc, but overall it looks like I will come in below 30 lbs, which has been my goal. This'll lighten up in Southern VA, of course, when I ship back some of the cold weather gear. I've gone out in the Vermont winter wilderness for a 5, 7, and 12 mile hike with full weight. No problems at all really, other than some sore calves after the long one. I feel confident that I will be able to reach Gooch Mountain Shelter my first day out. Putting up a 15 on Day 1 doesn't seem to be unreasonable, but I won't be stupid about it, not knowing the terrain down there real well, yet.Anyway, for those who are interested, I have set out my entire pack list. Just take a look over to the left and click on the "Gear" section. Enjoy, and please post any questions you have. Cheers.
Date: 2012-01-16
To: Some Pics of My Kit
Miles today: 0.0

Just a few shots of my gear. I listed it all with weight, last post, but thought I'd put some pics up as well. I don't like the TJ photo processing engine; I find it to be too clunky and slow, so I'll be posting my pictures up on Flickr. Here is the gear set:http://www.flickr.com/photos/spectreofangst/sets/72157628902439405/Huzzah.
Date: 2012-01-27
To: Thoughts on Electronics
Miles today: 0.0

This whole issue of whether or not to bring electronics, specifically a cell phone, is vexing. The arguments are pretty straight forward, and one can make a compelling case either way. The anti-tech crowd says that bringing a cell phone is bad because:1) tech corrupts the purity of the whole experience and sullies the hiker's wilderness immersion2) one-way conversations and the beeps and snippets of personalized ringtones "pollute" the environment3) the added weight of the phone, extra battery packs, and recharge cord degrades the overall experience by causing potential physical breakdown While I have decided to take my iPhone, I am not thrilled about it. I feel that the reasons listed above are good ones. Of course there is the standard "just in case" safety reason, which is sound, but the main reason I will be taking my phone is so that I can draft up my journal at the end of every day, while it is fresh, and shoot it out to my wife whenever I get a signal. She'll post the thing when she receives it. This way, I am not driven during every town visit to find a library with internet and then write my notes under pressure, bound by time limits and huffy hikers waiting for their turn. Additionally, the posts will hopefully be more timely.Of course, the answer to this is to not write a journal. I thought about that and decided that I really want this journey, whether I successfully complete it or not, to be captured as comprehensively as I feel like each day, and to be preserved for posterity, for my sons and their families when they have them.So, while not ideal, and not reflective of the "purity" of the experience we all seek in some form, I'm going with it. I promise to keep it on vibrate when it is turned on.
Date: 2012-02-18
To: Finalizing This Thing
Miles today: 0.0

Thomas Carlyle said, "Conviction is worthless unless it is converted into conduct."Well, it seems time to translate all of the bold thoughts, vague commitments, and good intentions into action. Make the potential actual, and the theoretical practical.   I fly out of Vermont a week from today.I'm linking up with my good friend Jonathan, a burly & badass bluegrass musician with a towering intellect, down in the fine city of Durham, NC. Together with our good friend Ed, Jonathan and I studied Philosophy in the mid-'80's. Back then we raged, roared and strove mightily in judgment of a society consisting mostly of what we saw as self-involved lemmings and found it wanting. I hold to that general view of our culture, though a more benign version. But the irony of it all in going on this long walk and writing about it is not lost on me. I sent my gear down to NC on Monday and found out that it arrived in good order. I'll spend a few days with JJW and his girlfriend, Rebecca, in town. Then he and I will road trip down to Georgia on the 28th. In the wee hours of the 29th, we'll drive up FS 42 and I'll be dropped off on the AT. I'll walk south and up a bit to get to the top of Springer Mountain, where I plan on greeting the sunrise with a barbaric yawp and set off on my first day. This will be my final Prep post. Thanks for staying with it. I hope you'll come along on the trail with me for as far as my mind and body make it.Be well..