morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2004-07-13
From: Amtrak Home

To: Home Day 1
Miles today: 0.0

Me and TacoStart: Amtrak enroute homeFinish: Holland, MIMiles: Zero DayWeather: Sunny and WarmBreakfast: Good foodLunch: Good foodDinner: Good foodTrail Conditions: N/AAnimals: Domesticated SortsPeople: Parents, Ben, MarcieI was keeping my fingers crossed that just maybe I would get to sit next to a cute brunette on the train ride home. That idea was flushed down the drain when a flamboyantly gay kid returned to the seat next to me talking to his stuffed dog and making random barking noises. He then pulled out a coloring book of half-dog half-human figurenes and proceeded to talk to himself for about 30 minutes. Then he began caressing his stuffed animal, kissed it goodnight, and went to sleep. How screwed up is that!? (oh yeah, the dude was older than me). I positioned myself in a way that would limit my chances of being sodomized by the wierdo and buckled down for a long train ride to Indiana. As luck would have it the train rolled on schedule to South Bend, IN and I waited for about an hour for my folks to arrive and drive us back to Holland.It was wonderful to see the parents again and we all hugged and did the family sort of thing. We chatted and caught up on the times in route home and I also took another nap.Stepping into my house was a rather surreal experience after having stayed only in shelters, hostels, and motel rooms for 80 days. Home never seemed so inviting and clean and spacious. My bedroom, which is rather big, seemed absolutely humongous and my bed felt extra comfortable. Oh the luxuries of home.The real purpose of the trip home was to prepare for the 2nd half of the hike. Given the poor state of my Achilles I had only gotten supplies for up to Harpers Ferry. I immediately set to the task of cleaning my gear and hosed out my grungy boots, scrubbed down my salt stained sweat crusted pack and washed off my stained thermarest. Mom soaked my socks for an hour and we washed up my clothes real good. As I finished cleaning up my stuff and set it in the sun to dry Ben rolled up to the house.It was great seeing Ben again as we hadn¢t hung out since he was home when he got to Harpers Ferry. We had a great time swapping stories of our hikes and looking over gear used thus far on my hike. He stayed over for dinner and we hashed over trail plans and strategies for tackling different areas on the trail.I stayed up late into the night sorting through piles of mail, bills, and other odd stuff that mysteriously accumulates when you disappear for several months.One Year Reflection
Date: 2004-07-14
From: Home Day 1

To: Home Day 2
Miles today: 0.0

Me & Cory Assembling Trail FoodStart: Amtrak enroute homeFinish: Holland, MIMiles: Zero DayWeather: Sunny and WarmBreakfast: Good foodLunch: Good foodDinner: Good foodTrail Conditions: N/AAnimals: Domesticated SortsPeople: Parents, Ben, Marcie, CoryI got up early and paid a visit to the family doctor to get my stomach looked at. Getting tested for Giardia requires a stool sample and then several days wait while it is cultured and analyzed, etc. Since I didn¢t have that kind of time we reviewed all the symptoms I was having and determined it was something intestinal and could easily be Giardia. I got two prescriptions one called Ciprofloxin and Flagal, which treat Giardia and stomach problems. So I started taking the Cipro first.Next I hit the Podiatrist and we took a peak at my crusty feet. Good news in flexibility in my Achilles had greatly improved and it is definitely stronger. Bad news is I¢ve hikes a thousand miles with inadequate arch support which has caused the potential onset for Plantar Fascitis. We went over some stretches I can do for that and recommendations for footwear.Final stop of the day was Wal-mart where I purchased all my food for the second have of the trip. I don¢t really care for Wal-Mart, but they have the cheapest prices in town¢¦.an economic Catch 22 if you will. I also raided the health food store and bought a variety of granolas and freeze dried fruits to assemble more nutritious breakfast.Dad cooked up a hearty steak dinner with salad, potato salad and bake beans, and baked potatoes prepared by Mom. It was so good! Afterwards Cory came over and we began the task of packaging all my food in zip lock baggies. After several hours all my hamburger helpers, CIB¢s, and poptarts where labeled and ready to be boxed up in mail drops¢¦.a task that could wait until tomorrow. Thanks Cory for all your help! It wouldn¢t have been possible to do all the work alone.One Year Reflection
Date: 2004-07-15
From: Home Day 2

To: Home Day 3
Miles today: 0.0

Assembling Food DropsStart: Holland, MIFinish: Holland, MIMiles: Zero DayWeather: Sunny and WarmBreakfast: Good foodLunch: Good foodDinner: Good foodTrail Conditions: N/AAnimals: Domesticated SortsPeople: Parents, Ben, Marcie, JustinGot up early once again and drove up to Grand Haven to do breakfast with my buddy Justin. I am used to restaurants giving hiker portions of food, and was mildly disappointed when I only got two pieces of French Toast and two pieces of bacon for five dollars. Oh well, I¢ll be back in the land of the AYCE soon enough. It was good catching up with Justin again as he¢s moving across State to begin a new job and won¢t be around when I get back.After morning chow I hit the outfitter and got squared away with some new kicks. I purchased the same boot I used for the first half, the Asolo GTX 520, only in a wider fit as my foot felt more comfortable in it. I also got super feet insoles, which felt very nice on the paws. Rick at the Outpost really knows his boots and a bunch about feet and also gave me some great stretching ideas for my feet. Thanks Rick.(I am starting to wonder just how boring this daily play by play is to anyone that has actually read my entries this far¢¦.)Back at home for the afternoon I set to making up all my homemade dinner recipes. I have some very delicious corn chowders, rice soups, and other entrees that taste great and are super easy to prepare. So taking the time to make them is well worth the effort.Ben came over in the evening and had dinner with the family. We then set to making up all my granola breakfasts and began the unenviable task of divvying up two and a half months of food into mail drops. The living room floor became a smorgasbord of trail grub, prior to boxing everything up. Ben also has trail maps for the whole trail and figured which ones would need to be in each box for the northern half.I am choosing to do my whole trip using food drops. Although the opportunities to simply re-supply in town are plentiful, I am finding that my food selection is far better than the hikers that simply re-supply. I have everything organized enough that all my drops arrive at the correct location, on time, and contain enough goodies for each leg of my hike. As of now I have yet to eat Raman, had only four Lipton sides, and five packages of tuna¢¦.food items that are on everyone else menu almost daily. There is something to be said about preparation and organization and I feel it has paid of well for me so far.Sometime around midnight I finally got all my mail drops assembled. So all my major chores were complete for my home visit.One Year Reflection
Date: 2004-07-16
From: Home Day 3

To: Amtrak enroute to AT
Miles today: 0.0

The FamilyStart: Holland, MIFinish: Amtrak enroute to ATMiles: Zero DayWeather: N/ABreakfast: Good foodLunch: Good foodDinner: Good foodTrail Conditions: N/AAnimals: Domesticated sortsPeople: ParentsI finally got to sleep in a bit and sit around doing nothing, the supposed point of a rest break. I went over all my food drops with Mom who has had the duty of sending them out, and done very well at that. I also laid out my winter gear to be shipped out when I start getting further north. I don¢t plan on summiting until around October 9 so I am destined to encounter snow and chilly conditions.I sat around in the afternoon and iced my foot for some type of good luck. It just seemed like the right thing to do. My train was departing from South Bend, Indiana in the evening so we started heading for the depot around 4:30 Michigan time. Mom, Dad and I all drove down together. I forgot to note that Indiana doesn¢t observe Daylight Savings time so we got to the depot about 1-1/4 hours early. With time to kill we decided to check out Notre Dame¢s campus, which was nearby. Our family is not a fan of Notre Dame football (Dad is a University of Miami (Fla.) alumnus) but we put aside our grudge for this visit. They have a very nice campus and it was neat to check it out and enjoy some of the classic architecture at the school. I got my picture taken in front of ¢Touchdown Jesus¢ so that was a highlight I suppose. Go TJ! Hallelujah With time ticking down we headed back to the depot, only to find out that the train was delayed over an hour coming out of Chicago. I said a fairly emotional farewell to the parents and they headed back home.I got to talking with the Amtrak agent at the depot and she had never heard of the AT. She went so far as to ask for my autograph. It was kind of crazy. The train finally showed up and I got aboard for what would turn out to be a really really long ride back top Harpers Ferry.One Year Reflection
Date: 2004-07-19
From: Pine Knob Shelter

To: Deerlick Shelter
Miles today: 22.3
Weather: scattered clouds

Mason-Dixon LineStart: Pine Knob Shelter @ 0935Finish: Deerlick Shelter @ 2154Miles: 22.3Weather: Temps in the 70's, Sunny, low humidityBreakfast: Granola w/ blueberries, peaches, raspberries, Chicken piecesLunch: Peanut M&M¢s & Craisins, 2 SnickersDinner: 4 Cheese Lasagna, Fudgeround, Code Red Mountain DewTrail Conditions: Super rocky! the worst rocks the entire trail so farAnimals: Chipmunk, Squirrel, Dog, Deer, BirdsPeople: Mickey & Mallory, Jacob, Kiwi, Lil' Munchkin, Terrapin, Goofy, Dayhikers, SOBO section-hikers, Dennis, familys at park I didn¢t sleep all to well last night as I am still readjusting to the woods. However, we all slept lightly as tree branches periodically rained down on the metal roof from a large and dying oak tree. I didn¢t have too huge an appetite this morning so I snacked lightly on some gorp and chowed my granola several miles down the trail.I spent the whole day hiking with Kiwi. He is a really nice guy and came all the way from New Zealand to hike the AT. He has really been plagued with foot problems, but continues to press on and has a great attitude. We chatted on and off all day on the trail and had a great time, given the tedious nature of the trail today.The trail was unbearably rocky at places and made hiking go very slow today. The ¢Devils Racecourse¢ into the Ensign Cowall Shelter, was several miles of jagged and jumbled rock piles. It only got worse from there. Quirock Mountain was totally hellacious and I rolled my ankles really bad several times.Mickey & Mallory, Jacob, Kiwi and I all decided we would push big today. My late start and the slowed hiking pace meant Kiwi and I would be doing some night hiking. We rolled into Pen-Mar Park around 6:00pm to cook dinner. M&M got dropped off there by Dennis, a local ¢trail angel¢ who charged them for a ride. The four of us ate dinner together and pondered the fact that we would be crossing the Mason-Dixon line tonight. M&M left ahead, and we followed suit about 45 minutes later.I guess I can loose my cheesy southern accent now that I am officially in the north. I got my picture taken at the trail marker. As night settled in my headlamp took a dump on me. Fortunately, Kiwi had several AAA batteries, otherwise it would have been a long five miles in the dark. As usual the PATC did a crappy job of blazing at all the road junctions and Kiwi and I got lost several times and spent probably a total of 20 minutes searching for where the trail continued. Oh well, but I do plan on writing them a letter.We rolled in just before 10pm and rustled Jacob and M&M¢s tents too spook them. Goofy & Terrapin were at the shelter and we chatted a bit. There are zillions of daddy-long-legs at this shelter and they are scrambling all over me as I journal. It could be interesting once the lights go out.One Year Reflection
Date: 2004-07-20
From: Deerlick Shelter

To: Quarry Gap Shelter
Miles today: 15.8
Weather: few clouds

Deerlick Shelter @ 0919Finish: Quarry Gap Shelter @ 1904Miles: 15.8Weather: Sunny & Low 80s¢ morning/early afternoon. Thunderstorms late afternoon/eveningBreakfast: Chocolate CIB, Strawberry PoptartsLunch: Arroz Con Queso, Star Crunch, SnickersDinner: Pepperoni Pizza, Bargs Root Beer, Ice Cream ConeTrail Conditions: Easy going all day. Two good climbs. Not too rockyAnimals: Chipmunk, Deer, Dog, BirdsPeople: Jacob, James, Mickey & Mallory, Terrapin, Goofy, Slider, Mickey & Mallory, Kiwi, Jen, Hi-Trailer, SOBO Section-hikerI didn¢t wake up with any daddy-long-legs caught in my beard so I was happy about that. It was a cool night and morning with temps in the 60¢s. I was the first person up and everyone else soon followed suit. We had a super fun morning and were all laughing hysterically, so I still had a late start. The biggest round of laughs centered around my register entry about Smack and Lamby.The trail was flat and great for walking. Not very rocky at all. I covered the first miles to Tumbling Run Shelters quickly and cooked up an early lunch with Mickey & Mallory. I was feeling tired afterwards and decided to nap for an hour through the noontime heat. I got rolling again and was definitely feeling energized and laid out the next nine miles to Caledonia Sate Park in under 3 hours. Nothing too exciting happened during the walk.I met up with Mickey & Mallory, Kiwi, Goofy and Terrapin at the park. A thunderstorm rolled in so we sat out the rain and then walked down to the pizza place with M&M and Goofy. I had a great pizza dinner and was ready to lay out the miles afterwards. Another thunderstorm started rolling in so I cranked out the 2-1/2 miles in about 30 minutes and arrived at the shelter as the rain began to come down. This shelter is really great and well maintained. We do have a full crowd here tonight and are talking about Flobees and Vegemite ¢ a nasty yeast concentrate that is popular in New Zealand. I¢ll be going to bed shortly, but first on to the register entry.
Date: 2004-07-22
From: Iron MasterÃÂÃÂ¢ÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂs Mansion Hostel 

To: Alec Kennedy Shelter
Miles today: 15.5
Weather: broken clouds

Start : Iron Master¢s Mansion Hostel @1933 Finish: Alec Kennedy Shelter @1648Weather: Super humid and hot. Rain showers in the afternoon.Breakfast: 3 fried eggs with salsa, chocolate CIB.Lunch: Turkey sub-sandwich, cheddar & sour cream chips, Dr. Pepper. Dinner: Bacon cheeseburger hamburger helper, 2 fudge rounds, potato chips.Trail Conditions: Super easy. Rocky in spots w/ short boulder scramble.Animals: Squirrel, birds, chipmunk. People: Goofy, Terrapin, Jen, Hi-Trailer, John, Strider, Mickey & Mallory, Kiwi, day hikers, park ranger. It took me a bit to fall asleep last night as the mattress sagged on the bunk, but once I did it was game over. I awoke a little after 0800 to Slider nudging me. He is skipping ahead to Delaware Water Gap, as he has already hiked the upcoming section. I fried up my eggs on perhaps the best gas stove of the trail so far, talked some more with Donna and hit the trail. It was well above 80 already by 0900 and excruciatingly humid. Leaving the State Park I crossed paths with a Ranger who advised that large storms would be moving in during the afternoon/evening. The hike started off really easy and I covered a lot of ground quickly and I wasn¢t even pushing myself. I arrived at Tagg Run Shelter a little before noon and much to my amazement I ran into everyone from last night, as they were just starting the day.We all stopped at the Green Mountain General Store on PA34 for lunch. They made me the best turkey sub-sandwich I have had all trip. It was great! We spent a good 1-1/2 hours relaxing in the front yard of the store before pressing on around 1430. The skies had begun to cloud over and the wind had kicked up, the telltale sign that a storm was a brewing. I wanted to beat the rain so I started hauling tail the last 7 miles. There were several fun climbs and boulder scrambles but nothing to bad. With about a mile to go it began sprinkling and slowly turned to a steady rain. I made it to the shelter as it really began to pour. Goofy, M&M, John, Kiwi and Hi-Trailer soon came in to. We all passed time in the shelter as it rained. Goofy and Terrapin decided to push to Boiling Springs and get a motel room. We had a quite evening at the shelter. It is still raining outside occasionally, however, no mega storm has hit. We all have a feeling a real boomer will hit yet during the night. I hope so, I love sleeping dry to the sound of rain and thunder, there is an eerie peacefulness to it.
Date: 2004-07-23
From: Alec Kennedy Shelter

To: Boiling Springs AT Center 
Miles today: 3.9

Start: Alec Kennedy Shelter @0930 Finish: Boiling Springs AT Center (unknown time - I was happy to be alive) @1648Weather: Rainy, humid and hot. Rain showers in the afternoon.Breakfast: Nothing, I puked all morning.Lunch: 2 power bars, peanut butter crackers. Dinner: Ritz crackers.Trail Conditions: Super easy. Rocky in spots w/ short boulder scramble.Animals: Ducks. People: Goofy, Terrapin, John, Hi-Trailer, Mickey & Mallory, Ishmael.It rained all night long and was still drizzling nicely into the morning. I rolled out of the sack and felt like dirt. Shortly after I stepped out into the rain and began dry heaving. I had no food or water to puke up and after several minutes of retching a disgusting green gunk made its way out. I felt totally exhausted and laid back down as everyone else pressed on.I finally mustered up the energy to start walking and hollered my ¢white blaze, thru hike¢ mantra to stay motivated and keep walking. All things considered the hiking was fairly easy and the terrain was not difficult at all. By the time I got to Boiling Springs, however, I was ready to pass out. I got to the regional AT Center, lay down on the picnic table and called it quits for the day. A local trail angel, Ishmael, who had taken the rest of the gang to breakfast offered me a ride up the trail to a motel.I got dropped of at the Appalachian Motor Inn and quickly got a room there. It is a major resting spot for the numerous truckers passing by on the Pennsylvania Turnpike, so there were some interesting folks staying there. After taking a quick shower I crashed on the bed and slept for several hours. I had made arrangements with Hi-Trailer and he met me at the room for the night after walking from Boiling Springs. After he beat on the door for a bit I awoke from my slumber and let him in. It was nice to have the company as I felt so dang miserable.All afternoon I had no appetite and struggled to push down fluids only drinking a meager 64 ounces of Gatorade. My head pounded, my stomach churned, and my body ached. Life in general really sucked at that particular moment.In need of food I staggered out of my room and made it about a half mile down Route 11 to Flying J¢s truck stop and bought some Ritz crackers and Trisquits and apple juice. I made it back to the room, nearly in tears I felt so bad (and thinking what if this is the end of my trip) and fell asleep exhausted from my evening jaunt. I woke up periodically and snacked on some Ritz but still had no appetite.Many of the symptoms I was experiencing was from a severe reaction to Flagal, used to treat Giardia, and dehydration which was also caused from my bout of vomiting and lack of appetite. I knew my condition was only going to worsen so I knew a visit to the hospital would be in store in the morning.
Date: 2004-07-24
From: Boiling Springs AT Center 

To: Iron MasterÃÂÃÂ¢ÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂs Mansion
Miles today: 0.0

Start: Appalachian Motor Inn Finish: Iron Master¢s MansionWeather: Rainy in the morning, sunny in the afternoon, cool in the evening.Breakfast: Nothing.Lunch: Saline IV. Dinner: Triscuits and cinnamon bagel.Trail Conditions: N/A.Animals: Barn swallows. People: Dr. Joey Wisner, lots of nurses, Hi-Trailer, Dapper Dan, Skittles, Blues Brothers, Wideload, Mike Gelinas, Donna, Paul.I got up around 0800 not feeling any better, but at least I wasn¢t throwing up. I said my farewells to Hi-Trailer as he left and advised him I would be going to the hospital. I called the folks and chatted with them some more and let them know of the days plan. I packed up my stuff, called a taxi from the front desk of the motel, and checked out. After about forty minutes the taxi came and I was off to the ER to give George Clooney a run for his money.The Carlisle Hospital emergency room wasn¢t loaded with gunshot victims like the movie show, but they were definitively busy handling a variety of incidents. After getting checked in I got to wear a stylish blue hospital gown and waited in the cold hospital room for the Doc to show up. Dr. Joey Wisner (a female) stopped in, asked some questions, determined that I was reacting badly to my meds and was dehydrated, and had some type of stomach ailment.Next thing I knew I was asked for a stool sample. God I feel sorry for the poor sole who had to analyze that. Yuck. Then I got rigged up with some IV¢s, two 1.5 liter bags of saline goodness ¢ a pizza party for the blood stream if you will. They also drew five vials of blood for analysis. Next I was off to get some x-rays of my belly (said in a Fat Bastard accent from Austin Powers). Finally I was back in my room all rigged up and I promptly fell asleep for about two hours. I awoke to the prodding of yet another nurse who requested a urine sample. Woo hoo. They really ran the gambit for tests. Shortly afterwards Dr. Wisner returned and advised it would be OK if I left the hospital as the IV¢s really perked me up. However, I cannot hike again until Wednesday when the results of my blood and stool tests return. Also, I need to rest and regain my strength. So I was let go and I gave my parents an update on the situation and called Ben to, then called for a shuttle.Mike Gelinas picked me up, a local trail angel, and drove me back down to the Iron Masters Mansion where I plan on staying until I can hike again. I talked with Donna and Paul, the caretakers, and it sounds like I might be able to do a work for stay. We¢ll see. Also, I¢ve gotten to meet some thru's that have been behind me for quite some time. So tonight I am staying with several thru¢s and a business guy who is passing thru the area.Definitely another adventurous day on the Appalachian Trail.
Date: 2004-07-25
From: Iron MasterÃÂÃÂ¢ÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂs Mansion

To: Iron Masters Mansion
Miles today: 0.0

Start: Iron Master¢s Mansion Finish: Iron Master¢s Mansion (Recovery Day #1)Weather: Overcast, cool. Temps in the high 60¢s/low 70¢s.Breakfast: 2 eggs, 4 pieces of bread, orange juice.Lunch: Lentil soup, chicken and noodles. Dinner: Chicken flavored noodles, pudding cup, PB crackers, Tang, 4 slices toast.Trail Conditions: N/A.Animals: Birds. People: Skittles, Mike Gelinas, Donna, Paul.I¢m not sure what happened last night, but I had a lot of energy and couldn¢t fall asleep. I journaled and chatted with another fellow until 0130 and called it lights out around 0200.I got up this morning with the other hikers. It was hard not being able to walk out the door with them and hit the trail. I had a decent appetite so I ate two fried eggs on bread. I was felling groggy so I went back to sleep and rested until 1300 hours.The rest of the afternoon I pretty much remained low key. I talked with dad for a bit on the phone, caught up on journaling, and watched more of a very interesting program on hiking the Continental Divide Trail. It was made in the mid-90¢s and interviewed several different hikers on every topic imaginable. All in all it is over six hours long. No hikers showed up at the park today and there is only one other traveler here tonight. So time for bed now.