morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2003-05-25
From: Allentown Hiking Club Shelter

To: View Entry
Miles today: 17.7

[from Munko's journal] Today was a great one! Although my sleep was often distracted last night due to the other campers' jokes, I felt pretty good. We hiked a long day today, but I felt good besides the constant rocks. The rocks did give my feet and tendons a lot of work. Towards the end of the hike when we were tired a nice woman provided us with some cup cakes- "trail magic." That gave us the power to finish the rest of our hike into Palmerton, PA. It is a 2 mile hike into town, but we got picked up by some fellow hikers. Tonight we spent getting laundry dine, grocery shopping, eating a bannana split, and having a pizza apiece. We stayed in the Jailhouse hostel; a little spooky being the only ones here.
Date: 2003-06-06
From: Ten Mile River Lean-to

To: Kent, CT
Miles today: 8.7

Walked into town around noon to do laundry and get food and shower (I hadn't had a shower since Pennsylvania, brrr). Finally threw out my holie Thorlo hiking socks and bought new SmartWool's. Tried to call a few friends in the area but, it being a weekday, nobody was answering. As I was waiting in the laundromat for my clothes to dry before I took a shower and headed back to the trail, my friend Christie's parents popped in asking for Afterburner. It was like trail magic from above- they took me home, let me have a bath and a shower, then we got on their boat and drove across the lake to a restraunt for dinner... so good. This is all the more impressive because, and this can't be underestimated, I hadn't had clean clothes since Pennsylvania. There should be a place in heaven for trail angels- thanks again Elaine & Peter! Christie had to go to New Haven to help out with the Special Olympics but hopefully we'll be able to meet up and maybe do a day or two on the trail.
Date: 2003-03-30
To: The Letter
Miles today: 0.0

March 30, 2003Mr. J___ ______Mission Validation ActivityScience Application International CorporationDear ____:Please accept this letter as my formal request for four months Leave of Absence (LOA), effective May 10, 2003.I have made this decision, not because I am unhappy with the opportunity you¢ve presented, but for personal reasons. We each have defining moments in our lives that guide us toward those life lessons we are meant to learn. For me, one of those moments came when I began the process of thru-hiking the Appalachian Trail in April 2001. Unfortunately that lesson was interrupted with the breaking of bones. It is now time for me to finish what I began two years ago. It is my hope that you will support this endeavor.¢Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you didn¢t do than by the one you did do.¢ -- Mark Twain, Autobiography.Sincerely,Marcia A. PfeilSenior Systems AnalystAttachments: 1
Date: 2003-03-31
To: Right Brain ~ Left Brain
Miles today: 0.0

~3/31: Monday/7:30am~Right Brain (RB): ¢Put it on his desk and walk away. You know it¢s exactly what you have been planning since the day you accepted this job. You told them in advance. Hell, you even tried to negotiate the time off before ever even accepting the job, remember? Work three months, leave for four months, and come back for whatever? Ring a bell? No surprise there though that they wouldn¢t go for that one. Now however, all contractual agreements are met and you know you need, have, want to do this. Leave it, they¢ll understand. Let¢s go home.¢                               I left it.~3/31: Monday/4:00pm~Left Brain (LB): ¢It¢s still on his desk. Pick it up. Take it back. You like these guys and you¢re walking out on them during an extremely busy time. Not only will they have their already heavy workload but they¢ll have to pick up yours too. How fair is that?¢RB: ¢We¢ve gone over this already ¢ you¢ve already stayed a month longer than originally planned due to workloads and the war. It¢s not going to lessen any time soon. It will all be here upon your return. Leave it.¢                              I left it.~4/01: Tuesday/7:30am~LB: ¢It¢s still there, where is he? Now you really can¢t leave it; he¢ll think it¢s an April Fool¢s joke. That¢s kind of tacky and not very funny. Pick it up.¢RB: Why do we have to do this? Just leave it and get over to office number two. Stop by at the end of the day and see what happened if you haven¢t heard anything before then. He¢s probably at a meeting all day anyway.¢                              I left it.~4/01: Tuesday/4:30p~LB: ¢He didn¢t get here today. This is your last chance to pick it up. Go on, pick it up and alleviate your guilt.¢ RB: ¢Oh stop already! You¢re even willing to walk if they disapprove the request so what the hell is this mental bantering all about? Leave the damned thing and go home already. If it¢s still here in the morning then maybe that¢s a sign that it¢s not mean to be. Maybe. Three¢s charm one way or another. Go home.¢                              I went home.
Date: 2003-04-06
To: Tick Tock
Miles today: 0.0

06 April 2003:Spring forward, fall back. Yipppeeeeeee! It¢s spring and I¢m jumping forward! One hour closer to being back on the trail!WUHUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU!!
Date: 2003-04-15
To: Taxes and Texas
Miles today: 0.0

Aloha All! I just wanted to share with you that my taxes are complete. Aren¢t you excited? I am. It turns out that I should have completed them earlier ¢ I¢m actually getting both a state and federal refund. This is quite unusual in my tax paying history. Not much of a rebate mind you but enough to pay for ¢¦ ¢¦ my flight to Texas!Part of my four-month leave of absence includes a visit to Texas to see my mother. Mother and I will discuss my current plans to return to the trail in depth. She will be adamantly opposed to the idea and think I¢ve lost my senses once again. I, of course, will stand my ground and attempt to ¢once again¢ explain how this is the right thing for me to do and that it¢s almost mandatory at this moment in my life. We¢ll go back and forth debating the issue for a good long time as I sort through her closet for various items. We¢ve done this before -- all of our lives together as a matter of fact. It¢s tradition. (The song fits.) When the arguing and debating is over nothing will have changed. She still won¢t understand and I still won¢t be able to explain it to her. The hardest part of the conversation with my mother is that I don¢t believe she understands a word of what I¢m saying. Literally, not a word. My mother is another in the long line of victims to that horrid disease - Alzheimer. Her Alzheimer condition is such that not only is she not able to verbalize her true sentiments regarding my upcoming Grand Adventure, or anything else for that matter, but also we don¢t believe she even knows who I am. We really can¢t tell. It truly is a horrid disease. May you never know anyone afflicted with it. But that doesn¢t stop us. We can still go at it just as we did while I was growing up. The constant mother/daughter battles. I just have to play both parts now. But that¢s okay too. The last I saw mother she was still good at imitating the emotions of those around her. I laugh, she laughed. I frown; she frowned. So you see, we can still have our debates. It¢ll just all be in my voice.   It¢s also a wonderful way of playing devil¢s advocate with yourself and ensure winning the argument every time!It¢ll be a short trip to Texas but one I¢m looking forward to. It will allow me to see my mother, older brother and his family, and hopefully my younger brother. I¢ll get together with one or two of my oldest and dearest friends, possibly drive to see other relatives in San Antonio, meet my recently located biological family (long but good story), and basically just enjoy before the last final push prior to leaving for the trail. I¢m looking forward to the trip. It¢ll be the mini adventure preceding the Grand Adventure. Wuhuuu!!! Maybe not the same as arriving at Amicolola Falls Lodge but adventures are adventures ¢ you have to take them where and when you can get them.        The time is beginning to fly by. I¢m so excited! (Another song!) Time to go weigh another one or two pack items!
Date: 2003-04-19
To: Hair - Long Beautiful Hair
Miles today: 0.0

¢Gimme head with hair¢¦long beautiful hair¢¦ Shining, gleaming¢¦streaming, flaxen, waxen¢¦ Give me it down to there hair¢¦Shoulder length or longer¢¦ Here baby, there mama¢¦ Everywhere daddy daddy¢¦Hair, hair, hair, hair, hair, hair, HAIR!¢ by The CowsillsYepper, hair ¢ long beautiful hair. Since I¢ve never had anything more than shoulder length mousy brown baby fine thin hair I really wouldn¢t know anything about long beautiful hair but I do like the song. In today¢s case though, it¢s just became shorter. It took me months before Part I of my Grand Adventure to take my hair from shoulder length to the short and behind the ears style I had when I began hiking. This time it¢s only going to take two cuts. Today¢s -- taking it from below the collar to above it and the 16th -- taking it off. Not all off or burred mind you but short. I can¢t do the really short hair or burr thing that many women do either before leaving or while out there. I¢ve become quite weight conscious and don¢t want to have to carry make-up that more often than not goes with really short hair! No, just shorter and easier is enough. If I can¢t have my blow dryer and mousse, too heavy, then short is the only way to go. Whatever is a girl to do?Is this really a big deal you may ask? No, not really. It¢s just another tick mark on my list of ¢things to do before I go¢. That¢s the important thing ¢ tic marks! Prep work is so hard! Tic!Oh yeah, I almost forgot¢ the new blonde color matches my silver, white and grays wonderfully!Tic!
Date: 2003-04-30
To: Osteo... Pshaw!
Miles today: 0.0

¢Hello Ann, this is Dr ____. I understand you have a couple of questions.¢¢Aloha Dr. Yeah, I have a question or two for you.¢¢Shoot¢¢Osteo what¢¢Osteopenia¢¢Is this damned leg going to break again?¢¢Only if you fall off the mountain and roll down it.¢¢Are you sure?¢¢Relatively.¢¢Relatively isn¢t good enough.¢¢Okay, 98% sure. If you do what you¢re supposed to do and not try to bust out a marathon a day in record time, stop and smell the mountain laurel, stroll along, and continue taking your calcium with Vitamin D -- you¢ll be fine.¢¢I wasn¢t trying to bust out a marathon a day before. You sure about this?¢¢You also weren¢t starting out strolling either. You will be fine. Osteopenia is a warning in this case. We¢re already working on correcting any deficit and it¢s minor. Go and enjoy. Call us when you summit and return.¢¢Okay. You¢re the doctor.¢¢I am. Bye¢¢Aloha¢******************************************************************************Without boring you with everything, Ortho #2 did go into more detailed responses regarding the Osteopenia diagnosis. It seems I¢m in the middle of the spectrum and that¢s not a terrible place to be. Continued strength training and calcium are currently the only recommendations. We¢re sticking with over the counter calcium for the time being but will reassess the bone density upon my return and make changes then if necessary. Works for me!To continue my strength training and cardio enhancement, I¢ve decided to go for a walk. A wonderfully long 1200+-mile walk to be exact. The doctor is out! Wuhuuuuuuu!
Date: 2003-05-09
To: Alohaaaaaaa!
Miles today: 0.0

¢COMING TO YOU LIVE¢¦ FROM FREDERICKSBURG VIRGINIA RAIL EXPRESS¢¦. IT¢S ¢¦ ¢¦ ALOHA! EVERYONE, SAY IT WITH HER ¢                  ALOHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!¢6:15am: That¢s what I¢m yelling this morning ¢ aloha! I am just way to cheerful at this hour of the morning. Especially for me. I was up early, dressed, fed the puppies their breakfast, enjoyed my own, and am now contently settled into my regular seat on the morning train to Washington. Oh yeah, and grinning from ear to ear! Today, yep¢¦ today, is my last day at the office for approximately four months. (Possibly forever if they¢ve replaced me prior to my return but we¢re not going there right now.) Wuhuuuuuu!!!! My Grand Adventure, Part II is about to officially begin. Just this one-day to make it through and I¢m in the final prep stages once again. The smile will remain plastered at least until this adventure is complete. Wuhuuuuuuuu!!!I knew today was going to be a great day the moment I arrived home last night. To start off my final prep stages, my brand spanking new Feathered Friends Raven sleeping bag was sitting on my front porch. What a dream! Weighing in at a mere 48 ounces it¢s a currant colored-down-pillowsoft- dream world. With 800 down slightly overfilled and a bit more added to the foot box (my cold spot) I¢m going to be sleeping like a baby wrapped in their mama¢s arms. (As soon as I figure out how to turn over and stay completely on the sleeping pad that is.) It¢s gorgeous, it¢s comfy and it¢s way warm. Let¢s say it again ¢ I¢m so excited! Wuhuuuuuuu!!I will admit that since ordering the bag I¢ve had a couple of ¢maybe I ordered the wrong bag¢ syndrome moments. I¢ve read numerous web sites by Ultralite hikers and find that the majority of them look to carry a Feathered Friends Hummingbird (35* rating) and a silk liner or fleece bag thrown in for extra warmth if necessary. The total weight there would end up being something like 19 ounces for the bag and then another four to eight for the liner. That¢s probably an excellent idea for you warm sleepers. The system weighs in less than two pounds. Sounds wonderful. But¢¦ and there¢s always a but, I can remember being miserably cold on several occasions coming through the Smokies and even in Virginia during Grand Adventure, Part I. I¢m just not a cold weather gal. The blood has yet to thicken from my 20 years in Hawaii. Ultra lightweight backpacking is a wonderful concept but I¢m just not there yet. I¢ll get there though -- check with me around Maine!Ohhhhh¢¦ we¢re crossing over the Potomac River right now and the fog is thick across it. An eerie and surreal feeling exists as you look out over the river. Reminds me of my very first day on the trail and Springer Mountain ¢ foggy, eerie and surreal. It really is time to begin Part II, isn¢t it?Okay, that¢s it for the moment. You go have an absolutely wonderful day. I know I will!             Alohaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!
Date: 2003-05-17
To: Harpers Ferry, WV
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: overcast clouds

Wuhuuuuuuuuuuuu! Guess where I am? You¢ll never guess. Really you won¢t. Okay maybe. But only if you said sitting in the Hilltop Hotel in Harpers Ferry, West Virginia. Wuhuuuuuuuuuuuu! As much as I¢d like to say that today was as fun-filled as yesterday was, I really can¢t. This morning and afternoon was spent attempting to get this journal up and running (Mahalo to Zipdrive and Leif for the web site; awesome job) and finishing up all the other little odds and ends that needed doing on the home front. It was a productive day just not an exciting one. What is exciting is that I am sitting in Harpers Ferry about to begin my Grand Adventure, Part II. I¢m truly excited but not nearly as nervous as I thought I would be. A bit but nothing like starting at Springer in 2001. I guess I really am older and wiser now. Damn it. The HSS, T&EE was kind enough to drive me up this evening. It was a lovely drive through the Virginia and West Virginia mountains. Gorgeous country. We arrived rather late but not so late that we couldn¢t go check out the casino in Charles Town, West Virginia -- horse racing and slot machines. We didn¢t play but we did spend some time watching everyone else lose his or her money. It¢s already been decided, it looks like a wonderful and fun place to spend my next birthday. Feel free to join us come October.Upon arriving back to the hotel I went through the motions of repacking my pack to ensure that I had everything. And guess what? I didn¢t! I am so angry with myself I could spit nails. After checking everything twice it finally dawned on me that I left home without my hiking poles. Damn! This wouldn¢t be that big of a deal if they weren¢t also the internal support for my tent! Double damn! After much beating up of myself I¢ve accepted the fact that I will be at the outfitters in the morning and will start my Grand Adventure, Part II with a new pair of hiking poles. Unbelievable! Oh well, things normally happen for a reason so I guess I¢m meant to have new poles. They¢ll go along with my new pack and sleeping bag. Things normally do come in threes. Dang it!That¢s it for tonight. The next you hear from me will be from the trail via my pocketmail system. It¢s time ladies and gentlemen. It¢s time for us to do a bit of hiking. Thank you for joining me in the continuation of my Grand Adventure. It¢ll be fun to have you along. Get what sleep you can tonight for tomorrow we conquer Rome¢¦ or the C&O canal!
Date: 2003-06-19
From: Stream

To: Viewpoint on AT 
Miles today: 9.9

Aloha! Guess what? This will come as a surprise I'm sure. This morning I awoke to... rain! Bed by rain, wake by rain. I'm beginning to see a pattern here. Luckily each morning's rain has been little more than a mist. Gotta love the rain!   As much as I would like to say there were hundreds of new and exciting things to tell you about but such is not the case. It was just your bland ol' day of following the trail UP and down mountains, past babbling brooks and roaring streams, from one vista to the next. Blah, blah, blah. You've heard it all before. Gorgeous, beautiful, inspiring, breathtaking, adjective, adjective, adjective. (I either need to find a Thesaurus or just get you to accept that unless otherwise stated, that pretty much describes my day-to-day life. Ain't it a bitch!) It was all so routine. Yeah!   In our meanderings today, Monya and I met a couple of new hikers. Let's see, there was Double Vision (not an overly talkative fellow), and King Harvest with his brother Pancho. The last two were delightful. Full of vim, vigor and surprisingly, insightfulness at their 21 and 18 years respectively. I would love to see them again but alas, unless they slow to my speed, which won't be happening, or I grow wings and fly along beside them, they like most others are gone to leave room for the next ones to catch up and pass me. As Monya said of her 2001 hike, being the slowest at this point is a good thing - I get to meet so many more along the way as they pass me! It's so true! And I'm loving it.   Our campsite tonight is a tucked away cleared spot next to a cleared field with a view. We chose to forgo camping in the cleared field because of the height of the grass and ticks. Monya picked two deer ticks off of herself today and I got one tonight. (At least I think it was a deer tick. With only my sunglasses and a flashlight it's hard for me to know for sure what anything really is. But I think so. Hope not but think so.   As I said earlier, without boring you with the redundancy of my limited but accurate adjectives, there's little to tell you. It's late and I've just gotten my normal evening clue that it's bedtime - rain. Out of my tent flap looking in the night, I can see... RAIN! Bedtime. Please forgive the shortness but it will happen on occasion. Aren't you happy!   Sleep well, I'm sure I will.BSandTs: not todayAandPS: nopeMandGs: did you look at today's mileage?   Who could complain?Critter count: 31x Red Efts, 2x chipmunks, 3x squirrels, and 6x deer
Date: 2003-07-10
To: CT to TX 
Miles today: 0.0

Aloha. What a strange day this has been. I'm sitting here in Galveston, Texas on the porch listening to the waves of the Gulf of Mexico and watching the seagulls and pink flamingos fly from one golf course water hole to the next. Less than 24 hours ago I was enjoying the rock art in the mountains of Vermont. This is way too weird. One of the situations feels like a dream but I'm not exactly sure which one. Way too weird. But I'm here anyway. {sigh}   Thanks to Elaine and Sherfoot, I made it to the White Plains, NY airport with plenty of time this morning. It was a pleasant drive with excellent company. That would have been Sherfoot of course. I can't say how good of company I was. Again, I owe those two so much. So very very much.   I left a wet trail in Vermont, flew out of New York in rain, arrived in Atlanta in a thunderstorm, departed Atlanta in an even bigger storm, and arrived at Houston in time for their thunderstorm. Rain - seems fitting for the day.   What's also strange is to be driving again. Technically I really haven't driven a car in two months. Any speeds greater than 3 mph have only been for a short time such as hitching a ride or with Elaine and Short Job. Someone else doing the driving and none of it after dark. To be driving the Houston highways at 70 mph while others flew past me was almost overwhelming. Scary at the minimum. I did all right though. I arrived here with my nerves in tact and the car in one piece. These are good things.   One of my family's favorite food groups is Mexican. You did know that Mexican food is a food group in its own right, didn¢t you? Anyway that's where we're headed for dinner shortly. Nothing better to lift your spirits than a fiesta platter (one of everything); the perfect comfort food. I'm guessing that I'll be doing a lot of Mexican while I'm here. Nothing like Tex-Mex for what ails ya.   Oh, I've just been informed that it's time to go. Perfect. I've pretty much run out of things to type anyway. Galveston and the beach are great but they aren't Vermont and the AT. Stick with me if you will and we'll be back out there soon.   Time for me to eat. You go hug someone you love.
Date: 2003-07-11
To: Texas
Miles today: 0.0

This is to inform everyone that Aloha is off the trail for a short period. The passing of her Mother has sent Aloha and her backpack to Texas.After being given the sad news, Aloha's first words to me were "I will be returning to the trail". Folks she will be back. I want to personally thank Elaine for locating Aloha on the trail then ensuring she got to an airport. You are sincerely a "goddess of the trail". Without your support I would still be figuring out an approach method.Any questions can be emailed to me. I will attempt to keep everyone posted of her status and continued journey to Maine.Char (Aloha home support system)